


Outcast

by SapphireIceheartt



Series: Death and His Daughter [1]
Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Minor Violence, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, stranger danger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 64,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireIceheartt/pseuds/SapphireIceheartt
Summary: A human girl with no name and apparently no memory of her life washes up onto a Barrens beach with the remains of a ship. Volugg, an elderly orc shaman, discovers the girl and decides to help her. But something is off about her. There is a darkness inside of her. Meanwhile her father searches for her, but he is not the only one looking. Reposting of a story from Fanfiction.net
Series: Death and His Daughter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065923
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

When Volugg woke up that morning, he never gave a thought on how his day might change him. A storm had swept in during the night, but that rarely bothered the old orc. Storms damaged his small hut now and then, but Volugg was a shaman and understood the balance of nature. One of his sparse trees might fall over and crash into his bedroom, but if that happened Volugg accepted that. He was old. Dying is a natural part of life. Volugg did not fear death, and he did not fear any storm. It was merely wind, water, and occasionally fire in the form of lightning.

But every time a storm came in, he would ask the elements to protect him. Not for himself, but for his equally aged wolf. Mudfur had always been a loyal companion. As the years went by, Mudfur lost teeth and agility. Every time Mudfur stood up, Volugg could hear all of her joints protest. She could no longer hunt like she used to. Without Volugg, Mudfur would probably starve to death, and that was not how Volugg wanted her to die. Normally orcs would take their aging wolves hunting or in war so the wolf could die fighting honorably. Volugg preferred Mudfur to die peacefully in her sleep. Her soul was gentle, even if in her youth she could rip an ogre's throat out with ease. Neither she nor Volugg were fighters.

So Volugg prayed that the elements would take pity on Mudfur and keep Volugg safe. But lately, the elements had been acting erratically. Volugg could not get them to answer him, and the few times they did, they seemed agitated. Friends visited Volugg sometimes, and recently they had been telling him of natural disasters and unrest. Earthquakes, fires, floods, and of course storms. Volugg lived to the north of Ratchet, right on the coast and he experienced it first hand how the storms were increasing in severity.

The morning after the worst storm he had experienced, he could tell it had been truly fierce as he limped outside. His hut remained intact thankfully. A tree had fallen near his pig pen, but it had missed the fencing. The pigs themselves enjoyed the mud caused by the heavy rain. The door of the smokehouse lay several yards away from the building, ripped from its hinges.

Volugg sighed, then called out for his companion. She had gotten up early, leaving Volugg alone in the hug.

"Mudfur! Breakfast time!"

Several minutes past before Mudfur slowly shambled over the hill from the north.

The orc smiled. "Good morning! Don't rush yourself now."

Mudfur slowly went over to the smokehouse and picked up the broken door to drag it closer to the smokehouse. She dropped the door once it was close enough, then rushed toward her old friend in an enthusiastic burst of energy. Volugg took the time to rub the wolf's head affectionately, then returned inside the hut. Mudfur followed him.

To save time and effort, Volugg ate the same as Mudfur. Thick porridge with finely shredded pork mixed in was the staple of their diet. Two scraggly banana trees provided a sweet treat now and then. If Volugg ever desired anything different, he would take a trip down to Ratchet to drink and sell anything that washed up on his beach. The waves would bring all sorts of things, especially after a storm. Driftwood, old netting, and sometimes odd things like boxes of silk or barrels of salt pork. It was a simple life, but Volugg was thankful for it.

After Volugg set down a bowl for Mudfur, he scooped up food for himself and sat on the hides that covered his floor. Mudfur gulped down her food greedily while Volugg took his time.

"Did you find anything else useful on the beach, old girl?" Volugg asked through spoonfuls of breakfast. Mudfur grunted at him, shoving her face into her bowl. She took a second to look up at Volugg and whined.

Volugg gave her an offended look. "More salt? Lick the ocean then. You can cook from now on, then."

The wolf stared at him, then returned to her food, licking up clumps of oats and pork. After she was done, she plodded over to the fireplace and laid down in front of the fire. Volugg finished up his food, silently agreeing with his wolf that the porridge had needed more salt.

The orc rose to his feet, willfully ignoring the sounds of his joints popping. Before heading out, Volugg grabbed his driftwood staff as well as a knapsack. Mudfur growled as he departed but did not get up.

Volugg casually hiked down to his private stretch of beach. The beach was mostly peaceful, so Volugg never felt the need to bring any other weapon but his staff. No murlocs or makrura wandering about and only occasionally a shark showed up out in the deeper waters. Volugg could see a lot of broken bits of wood as well as rope, sailcloth, and what looked like some barrels. A ship had succumbed to the elements just off the coast. Volugg would pray to the ancestors for the poor sailors.

Nothing had washed ashore to identify what kind of ship it was. The barrels were unmarked. Any sails or flags had not washed up with this part of the vessel. It could have been Horde, Alliance, or even a pirate ship.

As Volugg carefully moved a barrel out of the surf, he heard a noise. After a moment of silence, the noise repeated. It was the moan of something living. Volugg frantically moved in the direction of the sound and as he pulled up a piece of a mast and found the survivor.

It was a human. Volugg believed it was a female, though he had never seen female humans up close. She looked small. Either it was a child or a very young adult, though strangely it had bleached white hair. A ruined fur cloak covered most of her body. Volugg gently moved her onto her back to see if she was injured. The dark robes she wore showed no evidence of blood. Volugg hoped her skin was usually that pale.

Luckily she weighed little. The old orc managed to pick her up without hurting his back. He would come back for the salvage later. The second Mudfur caught the scent of the human; she would be furious at Volugg. Worse still, Riverdream would be coming by that night for dinner. What will she say? Humans were the enemy.

As he shuffled back toward his hut, he considered why he was doing such a stupid thing. He had not even hesitated to help this enemy. Gentle is what many orcs had called him before. Soft. Spineless. He should have left the child die.

But he was gentle and soft perhaps, but spineless he was not. It took spine to help an enemy, especially a harmless one like this girl. She couldn't harm a wolf pup in her state.

There was no sign of Mudfur anywhere. That saved a confrontation between the wolf and him. The orc slowly stepped up to his hut, thinking along the way. He had only one cot in his tiny hut. He placed the girl on his bed temporarily and went off to pull down some fur pelts. Close to the fire pit would be a safe place to keep the girl. He started a small fire before returning to the human. The girl did not wake up. He hoped she would remain unconscious for a while longer. He did not wish to hear her screaming in fear of the big scary orc.

As he transferred her from the cot to the makeshift fur bed, Mudfur returned. She entered the hut growling.

Volugg stood up slowly; hands held up. "I know what you are going to say. I'm an idiot. But this human could have died out there."

Mudfur snapped her remaining teeth at him and approached the girl. Volugg did nothing to stop her. The wolf sniffed the girl for several minutes, then glanced over at Volugg. She made a frustrated huffing sound. Then the wolf laid down next to the girl and licked her pale face.

Volugg let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you would act a lot worse! You've grown as soft as I am."

The shaman then knelt down to tend to the human child. He quickly took off the wet clothes and examined her body quickly for wounds. There were bruises all over her body, no doubt from being hit with debris from the ship. On her chest near her heart was a horrific looking scar but it seemed healed, so Volugg did not worry about it. He placed a hand on the girl's forehead to check for a fever. Unfortunately, Volugg was not sure if humans had a different body temperature than orcs. He rose up, bones creaking. Mudfur watched silently as he collected his herbal remedies, only again to realize he didn't know which herbs would be beneficial to a human. What if basic herbs to orc health was poisonous to humans?

Volugg agonized over a decision but did not want to risk killing the child. He would wait for his friend Riverdream to come by his house that night. She was more knowledgeable about herbs than even him.

If the girl died before then, Volugg would blame himself, but he would blame himself if he accidentally poisoned her. He would wait and ask the spirits to watch over the girl.

_________

She lay under the cloak of darkness. There was nothing and no one around to help her. He was dead. Everyone she knew was dead. Gone. The sense of loss and ultimate loneliness threatened to overwhelm her. It was too much to handle. Her whole life consisted of darkness, suffering, and death. Alone with nothing around her, she wanted to die as well.

But Death would not come. It was close, but it had retreated from her. She did not seem likely to die any time soon. Did she deserve to live? When stowed away on that merchant's ship, the deadly storm had seemed like mercy. The water had rushed into the dark hold beneath where she had been hiding. Instinctively, her body had tried to survive, but in her mind, she had resigned herself to death.

Death would not come. She remembered holding onto a piece of wood and washing up onto land. After that, someone had come and carried her away from death. That someone placed her in a warm, dry place. Death could not claim her now, though it would not surrender easily.

_Come back. _The Voice seemed familiar but strange at the same time. It was not the same person.__

____

____

Deep inside of her chest, something twisted agonizingly. Even as her body warmed, her heart grew colder. It was if ice was encrusting it and slowly killing her. But it could not kill her.

_Come back to me. _The Voice turned angry. She would not answer the Voice, and it did not like that. The pain around her heart worsened. The heartbeats stopped momentarily from the pain but persisted. If she were conscious, she would have screamed in agony. She instead answered.__

____

____

_Go away! Leave me alone._

__

__

The Voice went silent. The pain continued for what seemed like days, but eventually the ice around her heart melted with just a sliver of pain lingering. She was alone again in the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl started to wake up just as the sun began to set. Her whole body was sore. Her head throbbed, and her throat ached. She began to cough violently, and it took a while for the coughing to subside. Instead of sand underneath her, fur caressed her skin. Above her was fur as well. The fur smothered her in darkness, and sudden panic seized the girl. She clawed at the fur and managed to throw off the furs. As fresh air rushed over her, the girl realized she was naked. She quickly wrapped one of the fur skins around her body as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light of the fire.

A fire crackled next to the pile of furs. It burned brightly, logs piled high. A pot hung over the fire, with the smell of cooking food filling the room. The room itself was sparse. In one corner, a low table and two stools seemed to serve as a sitting area. Near the only window was what appeared to serve as a small kitchen, with dried herbs hanging above and cooking utensils on a table. Through one door seemed to be an extra room and the other door to the outside.

Hesitantly, the girl stood up to look into the pot. It held some stew with chunks of meat in it. Hunger gnawed at the girl, and she looked around for a bowl. She could not remember the last time she had eaten anything. Before she could walk over to the small kitchen area, voices approached from the one door leading outside. Frightened, the girl instantly backed away from the fire and laid back onto the pile of furs.

The door opened, and an orc walked into the hut, followed by a gigantic wolf. The orc's arm looked thicker than the human's whole body. His tusks were broken but still looked intimidating. The girl gasped, just wanting to run out of the hut. Before she could though, she noticed his limp and then noticed other things. He had to walk with a cane, and his hair looked pale in the firelight. He was old, and his presence no longer seemed as intimidating as before. The orc did not even look at the girl, limping over to the kitchen area. However, the wolf stared at the girl. It let out a growl. The orc turned around.

"You are awake. That's really good. My name is Volugg. Hungry?" He asked calmly.

The human girl did not answer, taken aback by his demeanor. She sat there, unsure of what to do. Instead of asking her again, Volugg merely picked up two bowls and walked over to the fire. He took the pot off the hook to pour out a bowlful of stew. The girl watched him hold out the bowl toward her. She hesitated to take it.

Volugg frowned. "It's okay. I made it myself...or do you not eat meat?"

Next to him, the wolf growled at the girl again. The girl looked over at the wolf and finally took the bowl. She was so hungry that she did not even wait for the orc to make his stew. She just lifted the bowl and ate the stew like that. The orc did not seem bothered. In fact, he seemed amused.

"Thank you," The girl tried to say, but her voice cracked. Her dry throat led her to a fit of coughing. The wolf's ears perked up at the sound of coughing. Then it quickly trotted over to a barrel. It grabbed a wooden bowl with its mouth and ducked its head into the barrel. After it lifted its head, the dish was dripping wet. The wolf came over to the girl and offered the bowl, which was full of water. The human girl took the bowl and drank deeply.

The orc reached out and pat the wolf. "What a good girl, Mudfur! You have gotten soft in your old age."

Mudfur curled her mouth into disgust, snarling. She stomped a foot and left to sulk in a corner.

Volugg shrugged playfully and turned his attention to the human. "So, what is your name?"

The girl should have known he would eventually ask her that. It's the first thing anyone would ask her, but she had not thought this far ahead. Even thinking of her name caused painful memories to resurface. How could she possibly continue to go by such a cursed name? Before the orc could ask her again, she decided on a painless answer.

"I don't remember," She lied. Then, to seal the deception, she started to cry. It was a weak attempt at crying, but it seemed the orc could not handle that sort of thing. Volugg reached over and put his large hands on the girl's shoulder.

"No, no no! Don't cry, little one. I have heard that sometimes trauma can cause someone to forget themselves temporarily," He reassured her. He looked more distressed than the girl did. After she stopped crying, he let her go and gave her an uncomfortable look.

"I have a friend named Riverdream outside. Perhaps she can help you?"

The human nodded and Volugg limped over to the door. He called out for the person. As they waited for Riverdream, the girl wrapped herself in the furs and ate some more stew. She heard Volugg talking to someone just outside. The voices sounded concerned, most likely for the girl. It made her feel guilty for lying to Volugg, but she had no choice but to lie. Even now, the memory of blood and the Voice haunted her.

Riverdream entered the hut, and the girl stared without meaning to. When Volugg had mentioned his friend, the girl thought he meant another orc. But this was a tauren, taller than the human and even Volugg. She had smooth tan fur and short dark horns. But what comforted the human girl the most was the tauren's smile and kind eyes. She had never seen someone so kindly. The tauren approached the human slowly and carefully, seemingly not wanting to frighten her.

"Hello. My name is Riverdream. You are fortunate that you survived. I checked you a few hours ago, and no broken bones nor any serious injury. You do have a fever, but I am sure you will be fine. Volugg says you lost your memory?"

The girl nodded. She couldn't trust herself to voice the lie again. Not to this nice tauren. She remembered everything and wished with all her heart that she had lost her memory.

Riverdream smiled sadly and knelt down in front of the human. The tauren wrapped another skin of fur around the girl's small shoulders. "It's going to be okay. Your memory will slowly return."

The girl nodded, soothed by the tauren's gentle voice. Volugg stood back a few feet, looking awkward. Riverdream looked back and smirked.

"Volugg...It seems this girl needs a name. We can't just called her 'human girl' now, can we?" She teased.

The orc gave a halfhearted nod and seemed less uncomfortable with everything. He approached the girl and gave her a thoughtful look.

"I am not creative with names. I named Mudfur because her fur is the color of mud. Your hair is white like snow," He said hesitantly.

Riverdream clapped her hands, causing the girl to jump. Even Mudfur looked up in surprise.

The tauren gave them all an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I just think Volugg doesn't give himself enough credit. Snowfur is a wonderful name. But of course, child, it is your choice. We can think of another name if you like."

The girl thought about it. Her real name started with the same letter but the new name seemed simple and clean. Snowfur seemed like a new start for her. The girl raised her head to look Riverdream and Volugg in the eyes.

Snowfur smiled. "I like that name."

After Riverdream gave Snowfur some healing herbs to apply to her bruises, she had to leave. The tauren had only been visiting and had to return home to a place called Mulgore. She stayed long enough to give some instructions to Volugg on how to care for Snowfur. Riverdream was a mother of three and knew more about taking care of children than Volugg did. The tauren also commanded Snowfur to not exert herself too much for a few days. Drinking plenty of water and listening to Volugg were strong suggestions.

Volugg did not seem happy about Riverdream leaving so soon. He kept trying to convince her to take Snowfur with her to Mulgore, but Riverdream refused.

"Snowfur is too weak to travel. Besides, I would prefer to speak to my husband first before showing up at the door with a stray human. How about I suggest both of you, and Mudfur of course, come to stay with us?"

The orc glared at her. "You know I don't like being around others."

During this entire exchange, Snowfur listened by her bed next to the fire. She had tried once to get up to help Volugg put more wood on the fire, but Riverdream had given her a stern look. That stopped any ideas of helping, so Snowfur resigned herself to lying down on the fur. She now wore a brand new set of robes of rough, brown cloth. Volugg had tried to give Snowfur her old clothes, but the girl had refused to wear those again. Luckily the orc asked no questions. He was awkward at talking to people it seemed, but Riverdream had hope for him.

"You are so grouchy, old man. Living on this rugged coast has made you moody. Mulgore is calm and would do wonders for your health."

Volugg grunted but did not deny anything. Riverdream merely shook her head and changed her attention to the human girl sitting next to the fire.

"Don't worry. I will be back. You focus on getting better. Don't stress too much about your memory, little one."

Snowfur promised not to worry, and the tauren hugged her before leaving the hut. Volugg followed her out, and the two seemed to talk some more. A yawn came from the corner of the room. Snowfur looked toward Mudfur. The wolf sniffed in the girl's direction. Snowfur held up her bowl.

"I can't eat anymore. Do you want it?" She asked quietly.

The wolf got to her feet and lumbered over to Snowfur. A large black nose touched the edge of the bowl. Mudfur opened her mouth, exposing empty gums and a few old yellow teeth. She licked up the leftover stew with a giant pink tongue.

Volugg entered the hut, frowning deeply. Something that Riverdream said seemed to trouble him. He, however, caught Snowfur's glance, and the frown disappeared. He gave the girl an awkward smile.

"I am not much of a people person. I don't know how River even tolerates me," He said sheepishly.

The girl smiled at the orc weakly. "You seem nice to me."

Volugg gave her a long hard look and then smiled back. He limped over to the water barrel and scooped out some more water.

"Here. Riverdream said to make sure you drink plenty of water," He said, holding out the bowl of water. Snowfur took it, and after she drank some, she put it next to her. Mudfur snorted and leaned forward to lick up some of the water. Snowfur looked at the wolf in disgust. Volugg merely laughed and limped over to the door that led to his bedroom. He stopped before entering and looked back.

"Oh. If you need anything tonight, don't hesitate to come wake me. Water is in that barrel. Do you need to...relieve yourself?"

Snowfur gave him a confused look. "Do what?"

Mudfur growled at Volugg, and the orc scowled at the wolf. "I didn't say that because it's vulgar."

"Oh! That...yes I do," Snowfur said sheepishly, face burning as she realized what he meant.

Volugg told her where the outhouse was and let her go out with Mudfur following. The night was fast approaching and already the sounds of the night were present. Bugs buzzed at high pitches all around. In the distance, waves crashed onto the beach. The wind rushed by and the smell of salt carried with it from the ocean. The color of the sky matched Snowfur's bruises.

Dry grass rose to knee length around the house, with a well-worn path leading to the outhouse. Snowfur followed Mudfur as the wolf trotted toward the small building. The wolf even opened the door to it with her mouth.

After Snowfur finished, Mudfur took her back into the hut. The wolf entered the hut, but Snowfur stopped before the door. She looked out toward the ocean. Suddenly the bugs quieted. The air felt wrong. It still smelled of salt, but it felt different somehow. A gale of wind rushed by, but it was cold with the smell of blood filling Snowfur's nostrils.

Snowfur quickly retreated into the hut, shaken. Her breathing turned shallow, and her hands started to shake. The urge to vomit up the stew from earlier rose up inside her, but she leaned against the wall and tried to keep her stomach contents inside her stomach. Luckily the old orc had already retired in his room, so he didn't see her reaction and question her. Mudfur didn't notice, already laying down next to the fire with her head turned away. After she calmed herself down, Snowfur retired to the pile of furs that served as her bed. She drank from the bowl of water, even though Mudfur had drunk from it previously. It tasted gross, but the girl didn't mind. She laid her head down on the fur and closed her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wake up!"

The girl woke up suddenly, unclear of where she was. Then it came rushing back. The shipwreck, waking up in Volugg's hut, and the rest. Her name was Snowfur. She suddenly groaned as she slowly moved around in her bed of furs. After clumsily reaching about, she found the edge of a fur and pulled it over her face. The overwhelming scent of cooked pork filled her nostrils. A growl erupted from her stomach, but Snowfur ignored it.

"Another hour of sleep please," She moaned to the unseen orc.

It seemed that Volugg would not let her. He walked over and yanked the fur from over her. The light blinded her, and she whipped up a hand to cover her eyes. Unfortunately, Volugg did not stop there. He reached down and pulled her up into a sitting position. He then held out a plate of meat.

"I made you breakfast," He stated simply. Snowfur looked at it and tried not to frown. Large parts of the meat had been charred black. Knowing better than to complain, the girl took the plate and noticed no fork or knife. She opened her mouth to ask for utensils, but the orc already turned away, fixing a bowl of some porridge for himself.

Snowfur picked apart the meat with her fingers, avoiding the burnt pieces. Despite the overcooking, the pork tasted good. It took a considerable amount of restraint for her not to stuff it into her mouth. She was starving. It wasn't until the bone inside the meat showed up did she start feeling full. Despite that, she stripped all she could off the bone and ate it. Grease-covered her hands and she saw a scrap of cloth in the kitchen. She slowly stood up, her body still sore and bruised. After she wiped her hands off on the cloth, Snowfur looked back at Volugg. He had already finished eating before her and had taken it upon himself to rearrange Snowfur's bed in a more orderly fashion.

"You don't have to do that," Snowfur commented, coming over to fix up her bed herself. She had made it a mess, and she felt like she should clean it up.

The orc waved her off and finished fixing up her bed without a word. Volugg then smiled at the girl.

"For now you should take it easy. But don't worry. I will make you work soon enough," Volugg said reaching out to pat her on the shoulder.

Despite his promise of letting her take it easy, Volugg did escort her around his home to help her familiarize herself with the surroundings. He showed her the pig pen. Volugg raised them for meat. The orc showed her where he kept their feed and where he slaughtered them. Then when he saw her looking at the half a dozen piglets suckling from their mother, he went over to them and picked up one of the piglets.

"Don't get attached. This baby will become dinner when it gets better," He said sternly to her. Despite that, when Snowfur took the piglet from her, she couldn't help but fall in love with it. She thought it was incredibly ugly. Its head looked too big for its body, and the snout looked weird. But the eyes were bright and large, and it made cute little snorting noises as it smelled Snowfur.

Volugg could see the look on the girl's face and quickly took the piglet away from her.

"Okay, that's enough."

He led Snowfur to the beach, where he had found her. At first, she gazed out at the ocean with fear in her eyes. The sound of the waves brought up memories of the crashing against the ship and the sudden cracking of the wood. Waves crashing against the sand reminded Snowfur of the water rushing in and the cries of the sailors above.

Volugg did not notice her fear or her hesitation. He strode out onto the beach without a second glance. Snowfur took a few deep breaths and followed him. The sand slid under her bare feet as she walked out onto it. Closer to the waves the sand was packed down by the waves but farther up the beach where Snowfur walked the sand shifted with every step. Snowfur fell twice before figuring out how to walk on the treacherous terrain.

The two found Mudfur basking in the early morning sun. When she saw the orc and human approach her, she stood up and shook all the sand off her fur.

"Morning Mudfur. Did you find anything useful today?" Volugg asked.

The wolf chuffed at him. She trotted off, occasionally looking back at Volugg to make sure he stayed where he was. She went over a rise of sand and disappeared momentarily. A minute passed before the brown fur of the wolf appeared again. She dragged a large swath of sailcloth with her mouth. To Snowfur, the wolf seemed very pleased at her find. When she reached Volugg, Mudfur dropped the cloth to the ground and licked Volugg's face. Then she went over to Snowfur and sniffed the girl.

Obviously Snowfur smelled okay to the wolf because she licked the girl's neck. Volugg started to fold the sailcloth but instead of doing it himself, he gestured for Snowfur to help him. She brushed off a lot of the sand and lifted up one edge of the sailcloth. Both orc and human managed to fold up all the sailcloth into a manageable size for carrying. Volugg carried it himself.

"Why do you need this cloth?" Snowfur asked as the two walked along the waves, looking for more things.

Volugg did not look at her but instead at the waves. "I collect stuff to sell in town or use for myself. Cloth like this can be good for clothes or bandages. Driftwood I can always use for firewood. Ah! Look! A bottle. Perfect for holding water."

He pointed to a dark brown bottle lying in the surf. Snowfur rushed forth to grab it. As she did so, she saw something else in the water. A weird round flat thing. It looked almost like a large pale coin. Snowfur picked it up.

"Hey...What's this?" She turned around and held up the object.

Volugg's eyes brightened and he eagerly gestured her to hand it over. "That's a scallop. Here, I'll open it for you."

The orc took the scallop and pulled out a small knife. He stuck the knife into the side of the scallop. He twisted the knife inside and there was a cracking sound. He pulled the thing open while Snowfur watched him wide eyed. It was like a small treasure chest in her mind but the inside looked gross. Volugg pulled out a soft mass from it and picked off bits of things off of it. He then bent down to put a bit of the soft stuff into the water, washing it off. He then put the thing in Snowfur's hand.

"Here, eat it while it's fresh. It's good."

Snowfur sniffed the round thing in her hand and then put it into her mouth, chewing it. It was chew and tasted salty, but there was an underlying sweetness that she liked.

"Like it?" Volugg asked. Snowfur nodded. He held out the hard pieces of the scallop that he'd opened. He explained that the round coinlike pieces were the shell of the scallop. The shells kept the meat and body of the scallop safe from predators, though it did not help them from people.

Snowfur instinctively looked into the water around her for more scallops. Volugg laughed.

"You can look for them everyday if you want. I'm not opening them all for you, though. You saw what I did. I see another bottle down that way. Go get it before it floats away."

The orc pointed to the south. Snowfur scanned the area before seeing it. She went after it, running a short distance before becoming short of breath and then fast walking it to catch it in the water. She turned around and held it up for Volugg to see.

After that, they left back for the hut. Volugg did not want Snowfur to overexert herself. The second she entered the hut, Snowfur went over to her bed and collapsed into the furs. Volugg put both the sailcloth and the bottle away and started cooking up some porridge.

Snowfur had kept the scallop shell and had cleaned it with some sea water so there wasn't a speck of sand. She liked the ridged edges of the seashell and ran her fingers over it occasionally.

_______

As Snowfur admired the shell, Volugg took stock of his new salvage. Plenty of sailcloth, driftwood, some bottle and one human girl. The sailcloth would go for a lot of money. Volugg would use the driftwood for himself since wood was hard to come by in the Barrens. Three trees grew near Volugg's hut, but he refused to cut those down. Two provided shade for his pigs and the other Mudfur would occasionally nap underneath. The bottles he would use for himself, and as for the human girl, he technically could sell her, but that would be wrong. Besides, she was skinny and pale. Not worth much.

Volugg glanced over at the girl. She wore the oversized robes Riverdream had given her, which made her look even skinnier than without it. The next day Volugg planned to take her to Ratchet. After he sold the sailcloth, he would buy her some new clothes. Perhaps he might find something other than porridge and pork to feed her as well. Did humans eat fish? Snowfur ate the scallop without issue, but she could not remember anything about her life.

Now he worried that perhaps ocean food was toxic to humans. He would need to watch her for illness. Taking care of a human child was more laborious than Volugg thought. Whoever looked after her before Volugg did not do a very good job. Who were her parents? Had they been on that ship? Were they merchants or pirates or simple travelers? Volugg knew of such things like nobility and peasantry. Was she the daughter of nobles or peasants? Not that it mattered to Volugg much about her status in human society. To him, she was a person. Like a pale, tuskless orc.

But if she was going to stay with him, he felt obligated to make her useful. He doubted she was warrior material. Even after she puts enough weight on, she would be small compared to a female orc. She could be a hunter. Or even a shaman. Even though the elements were acting very erratic and disconcerted, they had saved Snowfur from death. It could have been sheer luck, or it could be a sign.

Before Riverdream had left, she spoke of darkness inside the girl. The druid could not explain what it was or why Snowfur had this darkness inside her. Riverdream shared her concerns, and although Volugg felt no such thing from her, he trusted the druid.

For now, he would watch Snowfur. She seemed like an uncertain but curious young child. Whenever she looked at him, she showed no fear. Even now, she caught him looking at her and smiled at him.

"Tomorrow can I look for more scale its?" She asked.

He frowned in confusion for a moment, then realized what she meant. He replied, "You mean scallops. I want to take you to Ratchet if you feel up to it but after we get back, then you can search for more. There are also things called clams and oysters too."

Snowfur's eyes brightened with glee. "What's in Ratchet?"

He gladly explained the small port city. Ratchet was a neutral city so they might come across other humans. Volugg did not say so, but he hoped a human might recognize her and take her back home. Volugg was not known for his brilliant parenting skills. He liked children enough but only for about an hour or so. They run around too much and make too many loud noises.

Snowfur did not seem like other children though. She listened quietly and eagerly as he told her about the different kinds of shops in Ratchet. She seemed excited to see new people, especially the goblins that made up the majority of the population. As well as the wyverns at the flight master's post. She had never seen a wyvern before besides in drawings, or at least could not remember seeing a real one. The comment about seeing them in pictures made Volugg suspicious. She remembered seeing wyverns in a drawing but could not remember her parents, her childhood, or even why she was on a ship in the first place.

Perhaps she remembered more than she cared to admit.


	4. Chapter 4

Since Snowfur had been feeling much better the next morning, Volugg made her saddle Mudfur. When he brought out the saddle, and Snowfur saw how many straps were involved, she knew why he was making her do it.

The saddle weighed more than she did but somehow Snowfur managed to put it on the patient wolf's back. Mudfur stood like a statue, only occasionally huffing when Sapphire pulled a strap too tightly or accidentally stepped on the wolf's massive paw. Volugg did not give her any direction, and it took her perhaps an hour to get it right. The old orc merely sat in front of the house, watching her.

Only after she finally thought the saddle seemed correct did Volugg slowly get up and walk over to check. Even in the early morning, it was hot. Snowfur felt drenched in all of her sweat from all the work.

Volugg checked a few straps and grunted, "Hmm. It'll do."

Snowfur pouted. She thought he might say something positive or at least thank her. But no, he loaded the saddlebags without another word and hoisted himself up onto the wolf. Snowfur tried to climb behind him on the saddle, but Volugg stopped her.

"No. You sit in front of me. If you can't even saddle a wolf, you probably don't know how to ride one. If you fall off, you are walking the rest of the way. I don't care if you washed up on the shore a couple of days ago."

The girl did not want to argue so she merely grabbed the saddle and attempted to pull herself up. She grunted, but she barely got her feet on the ground. Volugg watched her with one brow raised. Then he sighed and picked her up by the back of her robes. He placed her in front of him in the saddle and Mudfur happily trotted off before Snowfur could situate herself. She instantly grabbed a handful of fur, fearful.

Mudfur casually walked through knee-high stalks of grass. Her pace was steady if slow. It took a while, but eventually, they arrived in Ratchet. Volugg always planned to leave early whenever he went to Ratchet.

Ratchet was a medium-sized port town. Snowfur noticed that that the buildings showed no similar architecture to each other and one even looked like it was constructed from the remains of a ship. Palm trees lined the rough roads. The majority of the population was goblins, and Snowfur saw many of the short green people as Mudfur made her way through the city. Tauren, orcs, and trolls were also a common sight.

Three armored orcs on wolves passed by them, with one orc glancing at Snowfur in confusion. Snowfur could feel Volugg tense behind her. Fortunately, the orc turned away without a word. Volugg said a few words in Orc under his breath.

Volugg directed Mudfur up a hill past a few shops and stopped in front of one. The orc dismounted and held out his arms for Snowfur. She looked down at the ground, frowning.

"Uh...I'll stay up here," she said. Volugg glared at her.

"What, for the rest of your life? Just slide off. I will catch you. Or at least tend to your broken ankle if I don't."

Snowfur sighed and did as he said, putting both legs on one side of the saddle and letting go. She slipped off the saddle and into Volugg's waiting arms. He grunted at the sudden weight but put her down without incident. The orc took the folded sailcloth off of the saddle and handed it to Sapphire.

Volugg entered the shop with Snowfur following her. It was a clothing shop. Rolls of cloth leaned against the wall. In the back was a countertop with a blood elf woman standing there.

"Nara! I have some sailcloth for you," Volugg said amicably.

The blood elf looked up from a book she was reading. "You are always to the point, aren't you?"

She put the book down onto the counter and placed a strip of strip onto the pages to hold her place. Then Nara noticed Snowfur with the sailcloth in her arms. The blood elf smiled.

"And who is this little thing?" Nara asked, her voice softening. She approached Snowfur, who backed away a little in fear.

Volugg gave Snowfur a comforting look. The girl bit her lip.

"I am Snowfur," The girl said. Nara looked her up and down and scowled.

"I assume Volugg named you and gave you those ugly robes?"

Nara took Snowfur by the arm and took her into a back room. "This doesn't work. I'll deal with you later, Volugg!"

Snowfur looked at Volugg for help, but the orc pulled over a wooden box and sat down patiently. The blood elf took off Snowfur's robes while the young girl protested. She then went through a rack of already made clothing and tossed the girl a few pieces.

"Try those."

Snowfur tried on a few pieces, but the only one that closely fit her was a light green dress. The sleeves and skirt were both too long, but the blood elf did not find it a bother. Snowfur was measured extensively and Nara promised she would shorten them to fit Snowfur perfectly. Volugg had mentioned getting her a hooded cloak also, which Snowfur told Nara. The blood elf found a few cloaks to look at but when Snowfur reached out for a bright purple cloak, Nara stopped her.

"That purple and that green do not go together! Here, have this grey one. It's also too big, but I can fix it up as well. Put on those rags of yours, and I'll go deal with Volugg."

The blood elf went to talk to Volugg as Snowfur dressed. She bought the sailcloth from Volugg and told the orc that Snowfur's clothes would be ready in an hour. Volugg pocketed the money from the sailcloth. Snowfur found a floppy cloth hat and held it up to show Volugg. She wanted the hat to hide her unusual hair.

"Can I-" Snowfur started, but Volugg was beginning to leave the shop. The blood elf gave the hat a hateful look.

"You can have that for free. No one is gonna buy that ugly thing."

Snowfur pulled her hair up and put on the hat. She then followed Volugg out of the clothing shop. Mudfur slowly stood up from her resting spot, yawning. Rather than mount up, Volugg walked down the street, occasionally looking at some stalls along the way. They seemed to be heading to the docks, where Snowfur did not want to go. It reminded her of the ship she nearly died in.

The smell of salt and fish grew stronger as they made their way near the docks. Volugg stopped in a few more shops, leaving Snowfur outside each time with Mudfur. Each time Volugg brought out a new item he had bought. One place he brought some bowls. Another place he bought some dried herbs. He even bought some well used books. He took a long time in each shop. Snowfur could hear him conversing amicably with each shopkeep.

While he was in a weapons shop, Snowfur waiting on a barrel with Mudfur sleeping next to her. The girl watched all kinds of people pass. Occasionally people glanced at her, but none stopped to bother or even speak with her. A few goblins argued while walking down the street. Snowfur wondered what they were talking about but she didn't know the language they were conversing in. A well dressed blood elven man strode by with a cane in one hand. A dark hooded figure concerned her, but whoever or whatever they were kept walking without a glance toward her. The figure made its way toward the docks and was gone soon. While she watched all the traffic, she noticed an older tauren at a stall selling jars of something. She wanted to go over to look, but Volugg had sternly told her to not move from her spot next to Mudfur. But she could not resist. She wanted to know what the tauren was selling.

She went over to the stall without Mudfur noticing. The tauren was smaller than Riverdream and older. She smiled at the young girl's approach.

"Hello, young one. My name is Ankti. How are you this hot day?" The tauren asked.

The girl smiled at the friendly tauren. "My name is Snowfur. What are you selling?"

The tauren picked up a jar and held it out to the girl. Snowfur took it and looked at the golden substance.

"It's honey, from the plains of Mulgore."

Honey. She used to like honey. It had been a long time since she had tasted any. She attempted to ask the tauren how much it was for one jar, but she couldn't get the question out before she got in trouble.

"Snowfur!" Volugg called out. The girl quickly put the jar down and whipped around to face the upset orc. He came limping over to her as quickly as he could.

"I'm so sorry! Please don't be mad at me! I just left for a moment," She said, tears forming in her eyes. Her voice trembled. She expected him to hurt her or yell at her for disobeying. But the orc took one look at the tears and gave her a concerned look.

"Why would I be mad at you? You scared me. Don't run off again!" The orc snapped. Snowfur stared at him. He then looked over at the jars of honey and the friendly tauren. Snowfur thought he would scowl and refuse to buy any. But the orc smiled.

"Ah. I see," Volugg said.

The tauren smiled and gestured to the honey. "Your granddaughter is like me. She sees something she likes, and she couldn't help herself."

Volugg frowned and looked over at Snowfur. Then he nodded.

"Yes! My...granddaughter. How much for two?" The orc asked. Snowfur wanted to say that she wasn't his granddaughter but the orc quickly bought two jars and shoved them into the girl's arms. He pulled her away.

Snowfur gave him a confused look. "You...aren't mad?"

Volugg directed her over to Mudfur. He did not look angry, and his grip around her arm was firm but not painful. Before Snowfur could say anything, Volugg let go of her arm and instead picked her up easily. She yelped, but he didn't hurt her. The orc raised her up and put her on Mudfur's saddle.

Volugg pointed a finger forcefully at her and said only one word.

"Stay."

When Snowfur nodded, he took Mudfur's reins and went on his way. The orc went off to the docks, pulling Mudfur along. Snowfur obediently stayed in the saddle when he went to one more shop and a fruit stall. Snowfur looked down at all the different kinds of fruits. She had rarely seen fruit before, but she knew vaguely what they looked like. Volugg got several kinds of fruit. After he bought them, he went over to Snowfur. The orc pulled an orange out of the sack and started ripping off the skin with his thick fingers. She took the orange eagerly after he was done and ate a slice. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted in her life.

"Happy now?" He asked. Snowfur nodded, juice dripping down her chin and neck.

Volugg smirked despite himself. "I figured. You like sweet stuff. Most children do as far as I can tell. Now, do you want to see something else?"

Snowfur finished the orange as Volugg took her to a hill. There, the girl saw wyvern. She did not even hesitate to hop off Mudfur's back. She ran over to the flight master's hill. Several wyverns lounged on wooden posts. One of the winged feline creature's yawned sleepily and looked at her. Snowfur looked back at Volugg.

"You said you wanted to see one. I don't recommend petting any though."

The girl nodded and merely looked at them. Short bristly fur covered all but the leathery bat-like wings and the intimidating tail, which looked like a scorpion's. Snowfur was in love. She wished she could fly on the back of one.

One lifted its tawny head and growled at Mudfur. The wolf growled back. Volugg took that as a cue that they should leave. Snowfur went reluctantly. She let Volugg lift her back up onto Mudfur and they headed back to Nara's shop. Nara had finished up the clothes but she refused to let them go before Snowfur tried them on.

The girl tried on the dress and let Nara look her over a few times. The elf seemed to be satisfied with it and took away Snowfur's old robes.

"I'll burn these for you," Nara said. Volugg took a few packages that she had set aside for and they left. This was the last stop before heading home and Snowfur looked forward to going home.

Home. That word conjured up all kinds of feelings for Snowfur. Some happiness but mostly loneliness, despair, misery, and most of all fear. Volugg' hut was not her home. The hut was small but safe, warm, and welcoming.

"Snowfur! Come on, girl," Volugg called. The girl instantly ran after him.

________  
On a hill in Ratchet stood the Broken Keel Tavern. It was frequented by all sorts of people from the locals to sailors to the odd adventurer or two. It was late in the afternoon before most people came to visit. In a few hours, the tavern would be filled with loud noise and drunken customers.

A tall hooded figure slowly made his way up the hill to the tavern. It had not been a good day. Again, the ship he had been waiting for had not shown up to port. For a week he had made his way down to the docks and spoken with the harbormaster. Each time, the harbormaster told him there was no sign of the ship.

After each infuriating encounter with the harbormaster, the hooded man would make his way back up to the tavern. Not to drink but to brood angrily. He could drink if he wanted to but the result would be disappointing. Undead can't get intoxicated, not even deathknights.

"No luck then, Andrew?" The tavern's owner, Wiley, called out as he saw the deathknight enter.

Andrew would have preferred to head over to his usual table without being disturbed, but the goblin always wanted to take to him. He merely shook his head in response and went over to his table. There were a few beds for the occasional overnight guest, but Andrew did not sleep, so he merely took up the table in the darkest part of the tavern. His belongings lay scattered about the table top. If he cared to lie down, he would do so on the bench. The owner got paid well to let Andrew stay there, so he never complained about the occupied table.

Business was slow, so it seemed Wiley wanted someone to talk with. He followed Andrew over to the deathknight's table, looking concerned.

"The ship still hasn't shown up? I hope nothing bad happened. We've had tons of bad storms you know."

Andrew glared at the goblin, but Wiley could not see the human's expression because of the hood. The ship had left from Northrend shortly before Andrew could get to it. He had learned the name of the vessel and its destination, which was Ratchet and quickly chartered a flight on a zeppelin. He had arrived before the slow-moving merchant ship, which meant he had to wait. And now the ship was late.

So entrenched was the deathknight in his thoughts that he didn't hear what Wiley said next, and the goblin had to repeat himself.

"I said, perhaps your daughter left on another ship," The tavern owner suggested.

Andrew sighed, "The harbormaster described her perfectly and said she went onto the Silver Wave. Which was supposed to be here days ago!"

A few customers came walking in so Wiley had to leave the brooding deathknight. Andrew leaned his back against the cool stone wall, trying hard to not think about the last time he saw his daughter. The look of terror in her eyes. The blood dripping from the wound on her cheek. The hurt he had caused.

Afterward he had died or nearly died. The details were blurry. The pain was all he could remember with clarity. Agonizing pain. The horrors of what he had done weighed him down. He was a monster. He still is a monster. Nothing had changed.

He could not undo all the things he had done. But all he could think of was to find his daughter and make things right. This one thing he could fix. He had abandoned her and left her to fend for herself. She was naive and ignorant of the world. How she had survived for so long, he had no clue.

The deathknight pulled out a leather pouch from his belt. He undid the strings and opened it. Gently, Andrew pulled out a lock of white hair. It looked like his own.

"Sapphire, my daughter. Where are you?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay. Let's try again. Make sure you eye the target before you shoot. Know where you are going to aim before you even lift the bow."

Snowfur eyed the crude wooden target as he said. Five arrows were sticking out of it. Many more lay scattered around. The girl fumbled with the quiver but managed to grab the last shaft. She nocked it and then lifted the bow. Her arms trembled as she pulled back on the taut bowstring.

Volugg observed her. "Lift your elbow a tad more. That's it. Now shoot!"

Snowfur let go. The bowstring snapped against the leather wrapped around her arm, and the arrow flew toward the target. It scrapped the wooden side and hit the dirt. Snowfur's arms fell. She frowned.

The orc sat behind her underneath the shade of a tree. Snowfur unhappily went off to retrieve her arrows.

"At least you hit the target this time! You grazed it. That would hurt if it were a person," Volugg said encouragingly.

Snowfur glanced back at him. "No, it would only hurt me because if someone were running up to kill me I would miss like ten times and he would be on me."

The orc had to concede to that, but he wasn't going to give up. "Mudfur could rip his arm off, and you could finish him off."

Both girl and orc looked over at the old wolf. Mudfur lay on her side in the shade. Her tongue hung out, and occasionally she made a snoring sound deep in her throat.

Volugg stifled a smile, knowing that at this instance it would be hard to imagine how Mudfur used to be vicious in war. Nowadays, her legs were stiff with joint pain, most of her smaller teeth were gone, and her right eye was starting to lose focus, but she could still fight if she needed to.

The orc bought the bow for Snowfur when they went to Ratchet. She had no weapons, and Volugg knew she would have to eventually learn if she were going to survive. He knew more about axes and maces, but neither seemed a fit weapon for someone as small as Snowfur. So he bought her the well-used bow and a long iron dagger. The bow seemed too big for her, but she could grow into it.

Snowfur picked up the last arrow and started over again. For a week, Volugg had forced her to practice with it every day. The first few days were rough. She couldn't even manage to nock the bow the first day until Volugg noticed at lunch that she used her left hand more than her right. He had been showing her how to do it with her right hand. After that Volugg tried to teach her how to use her left hand and he saw instant improvement. She did not seem to see any improvement, and sometimes she became frustrated and started to cry.

Volugg would leave her alone, unable to comfort her. He had tried the first time, but that somehow made her cry even more. Children were out of his expertise, especially female children.

Today seemed a good day. Snowfur was disheartened by her misses, but at least she did not cry. Her second run she did even better. Seven arrows hit the target rather than five.

Volugg slowly got to his feet. "All right. That's enough for now. Go off and play."

Snowfur tried to run off and put her bow inside the hut, but Volugg stopped her. He held out a jar of foul-smelling salve After being out all day in Ratchet, Sapphire's pale skin had burned terribly. Volugg made her a salve that would heal the damaged skin and protect her from further sunburns. The sunburns were gone, but he still made her rub the oil on her

"Carry the bow with you. Dagger too just in case. See anyone or anything, scream. Keep rubbing that salve on your skin."

The girl nodded and instead ran off toward the beach, the quiver on her back bouncing up and down. Volugg turned to his wolf and lightly kicked her. The wolf snorted and opened her eyes.

"Mudfur! Get your lazy butt up. Go follow Snowfur."

The wolf huffed at him and slowly got up. She took one sniff and then followed the apparent tracks that the girl had made.

Snowfur stopped at the beach's edge to put the salve on her skin, rubbing it in thoroughly. She then ran straight toward the water, taking off her new belt and the quiver. She put both just a few feet out of reach of the waves and added her quiver to the pile.

Mudfur slowly approached, but by then Snowfur was already knee deep in the water. At first, the ocean had seemed scary to the girl. The horrific storm and the subsequent sinking of the ship had left an impression on her, but she had been through worse things. Her way of coping was to forget about it. All of it. It was easier to pretend it never happened.

_Blood dripped from her fingers. Screams echoed all around her. Something large shuffled past the girl, and it let out a moan. The smell of decay invaded her nose. Bones snapped and then there was eerie silence. ___

__Small fish swam over to Snowfur's legs. Snowfur tried to catch them but the second her fingers touched the water, the fish scattered._ _

__Snowfur waded through the water, occasionally wincing if a large wave rushed onto her. Sometimes she found seashells. Most were broken but Snowfur did not care. She liked the pretty colors. But what she particularly enjoyed looking for was scallops. She had developed a taste for them. She always found one or two every day._ _

__Mudfur decided to join the girl in the water, wading deeper into the water than the girl dared. Mudfur stood there quietly for a moment and then jabbed her head into the water. A lot of splashing occurred, and Mudfur's head whipped back out of the water, a large fish thrashing about in the wolf's mouth. The wolf ran to the shore and smacked the fish into the sand a few times. The fish started to weaken._ _

__The girl came over to the wolf and looked at the fish. "Should we have that for dinner?"_ _

__Mudfur huffed and bit down harder on the fish._ _

__Snowfur collected her things and left the beach to look for Volugg. He sat up against a tree. His head sagged to one side. The girl went over to check on him, worried. A quick look told her he still breathed. She gently shook the orc's shoulder._ _

__The orc woke suddenly. "Eh? What's wrong?"_ _

__"Mudfur caught a fish. Should we make a stew out of it?"_ _

__Volugg nodded wearily. "Go start the fire and put a pot of water over it. I'll be there in a minute."_ _

__Snowfur did not move. Instead, she helped him up carefully. It took him a while to stand, but the girl was patient and let him use her body to balance himself. Once he was standing, only then did Snowfur go off to start the cook fire._ _

__________  
Andrew watched from a distance, safely hidden behind a few dried out bushes and the tall grass. Anger burned inside his cold body. It was clear to him that the ship had either wrecked or skipped its stop. It had taken a while, but Andrew had managed to learn about a pale-haired human girl from a seamstress. She had been reluctant to tell him, but Andrew knew how to be persuasive. Now Andrew had found Sapphire and saw that she was alive and well. Better than well in fact. She looked healthy, well fed and even happy. She smiled at the orc before entering the hut. Andrew had never seen her smile at him._ _

__He should not be so jealous. What had Andrew ever done to deserve a smile from Sapphire? Nothing. But still, it hurt to see someone else treating his daughter better than he had done._ _

__He was tempted to run in and drag her out, no matter how much she screamed and cried. But that was the old him. The monster that cared only about himself who treated Sapphire more like an object than as a person._ _

__Unsure of what to do, the death knight returned to Ratchet. His daughter hated him. He needed some time to figure out how he might regain her trust. Perhaps he could approach the orc and explain things. But no doubt Sapphire had already told the orc all about Andrew. She needed no embellishment on her part to convey what a horrible, cruel person Andrew was._ _

__He returned to his table, only to find that his companion had disobeyed him. An undead dog, just a few months old before it died, was chewing on Andrew's spare cloak. It had already caused a sizable hole in it._ _

__"Rot!" Andrew snarled. The dog snapped its head up and saw the man. It instantly whimpered and curled up in a ball. The death knight picked the scrappy dog up and glared at it. Rot wouldn't meet his eyes._ _

__"Bad dog!" Was all Andrew said before releasing the dog. He let it drop to the ground. The fall did not harm the undead puppy. It obediently went back to the backpack where Andrew kept it most days. He let it out occasionally but only when he could watch it. Rot was mischievous. If any mortal saw a rotting undead dog, they would toss him into the fire. Andrew would hate to let the dog die again. It was his only companion at the moment. Rot never liked obeying Andrew. The dog preferred its actual master, Sapphire._ _

__If only she knew that Andrew had found the dog shortly after he had nearly died. Or died. He was not clear on what happened. There the paladin was, standing above him. Andrew's sword lay shattered around him. It seemed that true death had come at last. Darkness had overtaken him, but he did not remain dead for long. His body broken and unarmed, Andrew had crawled and limped his way out of the Citadel. Mortals still killed and looted the Citadel during that time but Andrew had kept out of sight. He knew the Citadel better than anyone._ _

__Rot got bored of sitting there and tried to wander off. He managed to get two feet before suddenly he couldn't lift one of his paws and he fell over. Rot yipped in outrage. He looked at his feet to figure out what was wrong and saw that three of his paws were frozen in ice. The dog looked up at Andrew and growled._ _

__"Stay. Good boy," Andrew said unhappily. Rot started chewing on his own foot but got bored and decided to take a nap. Soon the small dog was snoring. Andrew unfroze the dog and stuffed him back inside the backpack. Then he covered the bag with his now ruined spare cloak and tied it off so the dog couldn't get out. Now he could think without interruption._ _


	6. Chapter 6

One night, Snowfur left the hut and went toward the beach so she could sit in the sand and gaze up at the stars. As Volugg taught her, she did not go anywhere without her weapons. It was high tide, so the waves were closer than usual. Snowfur sat just out of reach of the waves. The two moons rose up into the sky, reflecting down on the vast ocean.

Snowfur looked up at the stars. They looked like small bright candle flames in the sky. For most of her life, she had never seen stars. She had barely seen the sky. The first time she had seen stars had been out in a forest. It had been the first time she had seen real trees too. It was all overwhelming. Now to see a tree seemed almost normal. Sometimes everything seemed like a dream. One day she might wake up in the nightmare again.

Her hands started shaking. Goosebumps rose up on her skin as it felt like the air turned icy. The stars above grew blurry as the world seemed to spin. Snowfur's chest tightened, causing her to breathe shallowly and painfully. Fear gripped her. As she was about to try crying out for Volugg, the girl heard a whimpering noise.

Everything stopped spinning. Snowfur could breathe normally again. Only her hands still shook, but she managed to grab her bow. She nocked an arrow and tried to figure the direction of where the noise had come. Near the beach, a patch of grass had been disturbed by something. Fear clung to Snowfur. Was it a predator that was trying to lure her closer? Was it a lion or one of the things that Volugg called a raptor?

Another whimper. It sounded sincere. Snowfur kept her bow up but decided to approach the grass. Her heart felt like it would explode at any second.

A small creature sat in the grass. Whatever it is, it had pale grey fur. The ears were rounded, and the head looked a tad misshapen. It almost appeared like a dog. It looked up at Snowfur, then made a weird noise at her. Large brown eyes gazed up at her with fear.

Snowfur lowered her bow and reached out with one hand. The creature snapped at her, but Snowfur was persistent. She knelt down into the grass and held out her hand. The animal glared at the outstretched hand for a few minutes. It then sniffed toward her. Eventually, it came over to her hand then pressed its nose against her hand. Snowfur expected it to bite her, but the animal did not harm it. It merely whimpered and looked back up at her.

The girl hung her bow back across her body and picked up the animal with both hands. It hissed angrily and squirmed in her arms, but Snowfur cradled it firmly in her arms. It's fur roughly brushed against the girl's arms. She could see and feel its ribs. It would be hungry.

Volugg was already retired into his room. He would most likely be asleep. Mudfur slept outside, snoring loudly. Snowfur quietly passed the wolf. The small dog thing luckily made no noise. It trembled in her arms as she passed the wolf.

As soon as she got inside, Snowfur looked at the animal for a better look. It did indeed look like a pale grey, awkward dog. The snout was more rounded and shorter in proportion than a dog would be. The ears were comically circular.

She set the animal down, and it gurgled curiously as it explored the new environment. It shambled near Snowfur's bed and plopped down onto the furs. Snowfur quietly opened a barrel of salt pork. The animal undoubtedly was hungry, so she thought it might like a snack. The second she pulled out a large piece of pork, and the animal saw what it was, it let out a terrifying cacophony of laughter and lunged at her.

Snowfur recoiled in surprise. The animal did not attack her but leaped to snatch the pork from her fingers. A loud sound came from the bedroom, and Volugg burst out wielding a massive battleax. Mudfur scrambled through the entranceway, snarling at the small creature. It squealed in terror and ran to hide behind the water barrel. Volugg sighed and lowered his battleax. Mudfur sniffed warily toward the water barrel. Quiet growls emanated from the wolf's throat.

"Why is there a baby hyena in our hut?" Volugg asked. Snowfur noticed he said "our hut" and not "my hut."

Snowfur went over to the water barrel and picked up the frightened animal. "I found him...He looked hungry and scared."

Volugg groaned and muttered something under his breath, but he did not yell at her or kill the hyena. Snowfur figured that was a good thing and smiled at the orc.

"Can I keep it?" She begged. There had been no signs of any parents of the hyena. Most likely it had been abandoned. She had no idea what a hyena was, but it was cute and small.

Mudfur growled again and huffed in Volugg's direction. The orc looked at the young hyena and then at Snowfur's pleading look. He sighed in resignation.

"Fine. Fine, fine! Keep it. But I'm not feeding it or cleaning up after it. That thing is your responsibility. Got it? And if it mauls you when it gets bigger because you didn't train it, that's your fault."

Snowfur put the hyena down and hugged Volugg. "Thank you! I'll take good care of it!"

Volugg peeled her arms off of him and then gestured over to the hyena. "There's your first job."

The hyena was squatting in the corner of the room, and a puddle was starting to form.

_______  
Watching Sapphire from afar was a painful experience for Andrew. He had found a well-hidden spot nearby the hut so he could keep tabs on his daughter. At that moment, she was frolicking with a hyena of all things! She looked happy. There was a smile on her face that hurt Andrew. It became too much to watch her and Andrew turned away to look at anything else but that.

Above, the sky was overcast with dark clouds. It signified that there was a storm coming. No raindrops fell, but it would only be a matter of time. Just more evidence of something being wrong. Reports flooded into Ratchet of massive earthquakes and fierce fires in both Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. The weather's unpredictability concerned many druids and shamans. Even Andrew felt unnerved by it all. The earthquakes, fires, and even this storm were not natural.

A distant laugh caught Andrew's attention once more. Sapphire lay sprawled onto the grass. The hyena batted at her with its oversized paws and licking her face. Despite his pain, Andrew smiled at the sight. If only he could make Sapphire laugh. Should he come out of hiding then, Sapphire's laughs would transform into screams of terror.

Sometimes Andrew tried to reassure himself that his cruelty had not been his fault. He sometimes thought he had not chosen to become a monster, but in a way he had. Andrew could have stopped at any time before he touched that sword. He could have never have gone to Northrend. He could have chosen to not kill all those people in Stratholme. The screams...

Andrew covered his face with his hands. It felt like a hammer was slamming down on his head. Everything turned to darkness. All Andrew could think about was everything he had done. Everyone he had killed. The crunch of breaking bones. The sound of a sword slicing through flesh and the sight of organs spilling down onto the ground. Men, women, and children dying. Abominations created from a mix of different bodies. Skeletal horrors cutting down innocents.

"Stub! Stub no come back!"

The man looked back at his daughter to see her chasing after the hyena. The orc and his wolf were nowhere to be seen. He hoped that Sapphire would catch the hyena, but the animal kept running straight into the hills and the plains beyond. Sapphire followed without hesitation.

Andrew leaped up from his hiding spot and ran after her. He had kept her locked up most of her life, and she knew nothing of the outside world. She would not understand that the plains would be full of predators larger and stronger than her. Lions, cheetahs, raptors and even other hyenas like her new pet. Worse, the Barrens belonged to the Horde. Not all orcs would be as open-minded as the one taking care of her.

The hyena kept running for who knows how long. How Sapphire kept up with it, Andrew didn't know. He could run forever and not get tired, but Sapphire's poor health would get the better of her.

Eventually, Sapphire tired. The hyena kept running and disappeared into the long grass. Her father slowed down to stay hidden. He held her in his sight every second.

"Stub! Stub come back!" Sapphire cried out forlornly. She looked around in Andrew's direction but did not see him. Finally, it seemed to dawn on her the predicament she was in. Alone in the Barrens with no weapon and utterly unsure of where to go.

It seemed like Andrew might have to reveal himself to help her before the hyena came rushing back in a panic. It was laughing loudly and twirling around in a nervous circle. Sapphire bent down to calm it, and that's when Andrew saw the lion crouching.

Andrew rushed out just as the lion pounced at Sapphire. The man shoved the girl aside, who screamed. The hyena chuckled even louder and scrambled to get away. The force from the lion's pounce knocked Andrew to the ground and pinned his sword underneath him.

The lion tore at Andrew and bit at him. The death knight felt no pain but could feel the pressure resulting from the feline gouging through his armor and into his skin. Andrew snarled at the animal and kicked it off of him then pounced onto it himself. It never crossed his mind to use magic to freeze the animal's blood or strangulate it. Rage clouded his thoughts. The animal swatted at him with its paws and Andrew felt it scratch his face. He grabbed at the animal's mane and pulled it into a headlock. It let out a savage roar, but Andrew did not hesitate. With great force, he twisted the animal's head until a loud pop, and the lion went limp.

Andrew let go of the lion and looked up at Sapphire. She stared at him in horror. Her breath started to grow ragged. He saw her hands shaking. Next, to her, the hyena whimpered.

"You...you. Dead," Sapphire rasped. Andrew slowly stood up.

"Sapphire, it's okay. I'm not going to-"

The girl collapsed to the ground. Andrew approached her limp body. Her heart still thudded inside of her chest, so Andrew assumed she had passed out. He could take her back before she woke and left. She could pass off the brief interaction as a nightmare or hallucination.

A few minutes of deliberation and Andrew felt like there was only one choice. Take her back to the orc's hut and reveal himself in full. Hiding any longer would be futile. He gently lifted his daughter's body and put her over his shoulder. Then he grabbed the dead lion by the mane and started off toward the hut, dragging the lion in the dirt. The hyena cried out and followed the man. Raindrops started to fall, and in the distance, thunder boomed.

"Snowfur! Where are you!"

Andrew looked and saw the elderly orc. He was searching around for Sapphire, using a wooden cane as support. Next to him, an old riding wolf sniffed the ground. She lifted her head and seeing the death knight, howled in alarm. Despite his injured leg, the orc whipped around and roared at the sight of Sapphire's limp body.

"What have you done to-" The orc suddenly noticed the dead lion in Andrew's grip.

The death knight dropped the lion and held his empty hand up. "I saved her from this lion. She passed out at the sight of me."

"Who are you and why did you save my Snowfur?" The orc snarled.

Andrew flinched. This elderly orc called her Snowfur and acted like she was his daughter. She did not belong to this him, but if given the option, Sapphire would pick any random stranger over her own father.

"I...I am her father. My name is Andrew Mithril," Andrew said sadly.

The wolf growled quietly, fur standing straight up. The orc merely snorted at him. "Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your head off. Your daughter claims not to remember anything of her past, but I know better. She sucks at lying, and so do you! Andrew is not your name. And the scars on her back come from you, don't they?"

Andrew shamefully lowered his head in response to the accusation. He wanted to lie again but knew the orc would see through the ruse. The death knight sighed.

"Yes. I caused those scars. As for a good reason why you should not rip my head off? I have no good reasons. I should be dead."

Now the orc seemed to relax his muscles a tad and leaned even more heavily on his cane. Even the wolf seemed calm. The orc gestured to the hut. "Put her in there before the rain starts to come down harder. I'll bring in that lion. It's been a while since I've had lion steak."

Andrew quickly obeyed the orc, carrying Sapphire toward the hut while the orc dragged the dead lion. Both wolf and hyena rushed forward in a hurry to get out of the rain. As soon as he entered the hut, Andrew noticed a pile of furs with some seashells in a pile next to it. He placed his daughter into the furs and jumped back as the hyena pushed him aside to curl up against Sapphire.

"You never gave me your real name," The orc grunted as he pulled the lion into the hut.

Andrew turned around and smirked. "Well, I don't recall you giving me yours."

"Volugg. And watch your tone, boy. I'm not scared of death or undead such as you. Name?" Volugg snapped.

The death knight almost laughed at Volugg's attitude toward him. It had been so long since someone had spoken to him like that.

"My name is Arthas. Do you need help skinning that?"

Volugg suddenly grinned widely, showing off all his teeth. "I'm a cripple. You can skin it all by yourself while I tend to Snowfur."

The orc shuffled past Arthas and knelt down to Sapphire. Surprisingly he turned his back on the death knight. Perhaps because he was so old, Volugg did not care if he died from a vicious monster.

Arthas pulled out his knife. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wolf lift her head. She watched him walk over to the lion and laid her head back down as he started to skin it.


	7. Chapter 7

Blue arcs of lightning crackled through the charcoal clouds with thunder roaring shortly after. Waves of dark water raged, slamming against the rocks and beaches on the land. Pigs cowered inside their crudely made shack which shook from the force of the winds. Water leaked through the thatched roof of Volugg's hut.

Each time a leak sprung, Volugg had some container for it. Mugs, bowls, and pots filled up with water. Each time they filled up, Volugg or Snowfur would empty them into the water barrel. Mudfur or Stub would lick up any puddles that started to form.

One particularly loud peal of thunder caused Volugg to flinch.

"This is not right." Snowfur heard him whisper.

Since she had regained consciousness, the orc seemed agitated and fidgety. At first, Snowfur thought his irritation was towards her. She had lied to him about her past. She tried to apologize, but he would not hear of it.

"You are not what I'm angry about. It's this storm. This storm is not natural. The elements ignore my pleas."

It was the storm that caused his behavior. He never explained much about what shamans did, and Snowfur never felt like asking. If he wanted to tell her, he would. All she could figure out was it involved the elements. Like fire, water, and dirt.

Despite his frustrations being directed at the storm, Snowfur still felt guilty for lying. She tried to apologize, but the orc would not hear of it.

"You should not feel bad at all for lying. I understand your reasoning. If I had been in your situation, I would have lied as well. Though I would have done a better job at it. Now eat and don't apologize again or I will throw you out to the storm," Volugg commented.

Snowfur proceeded into eating her stew in silence. The lion meat tasted richer than the pork Volugg always ate. It seemed funny to the girl to be eating something that had tried to eat her first.

Another bout of thunder rocked the hut. Sapphire winced, and the pulled the furs tighter around her body. She shivered, and it wasn't from the cold. Her fear stemmed not only from the raging storm outside but also from the creature sitting against the farthest wall.

He said nothing. He even refused to look at her. It seemed like a relief at first, but as Snowfur sat there, she wished he would just glance at her once. He saved her from the lion, but that meant nothing. He was a master at manipulation. Volugg seemed to fall for it but Snowfur would not. Worse still, Stub seemed to have taken a liking to the monster. As a courtesy Volugg had given the man some of the stew. Rather than pretend to eat it, Snowfur's father sat it down and pushed it toward Stub. The hyena cackled and gleefully shoved his face into the bowl. Snowfur seethed. Stub was her hyena.

Volugg could see the tension between the two and decided enough was enough.

"Snowfur...Could you come into my room for a minute?"

The girl nodded and followed the orc into the bedroom. The second Snowfur closed the door behind her; she started to cry. It had taken all her being to restrain from crying in front of her father. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears. Now that a door and wall stood between the two of them, Snowfur let it all out.

"Why did you let him in here? You should have left him out in the storm or let Mudfur rip his face off."

Volugg sat on the edge of his wooden bed. Her tears bothered him, but he did not try to comfort her.

"I doubt ripping his face off would help you."

Snowfur glared at him. "Yes, it would! He's a monster."

When Volugg scowled, Snowfur regretted her words. Humans normally considered orcs to be monsters and though she had offended him. But he merely shook his head and asked, "If he is a monster, then why did he save you?"

The girl almost replied with a sharp retort, but then she thought about it. Why had he done it? Why would he care if a lion mauled her? Doubts started to fill her mind. He surely did it to manipulate her. That had to be why he had done it. If he saved her, he thought she would feel grateful to him.

"I might seem like a nice person, but I have done horrible things," Volugg fell silent after that comment. Pain shone in his eyes and Snowfur was worried he might start crying. She would never have thought to see an orc cry, especially not Volugg. Then he merely cleared his throat and sat up straight.

"I have killed people. Not just in war. I have killed children smaller than you. Do you know how easy it is to kill a child?"

Snowfur shook her head silently, horrified. Volugg smiled sadly. "I imagine you wouldn't know. It was easy at the time."

"But...You are nice. How could you do something like that?"

Volugg patted the bed. Snowfur hopped up and went over to sit next to him.

"It's not hard for me to say. I try not to think about it. But just know that I may not be as bad as your father, but I did horrific things. I never thought I could live with myself. His heart, figuratively at least, is hurting."

Snowfur sniffled. She did not want to listen to Volugg, but she forced herself to.

"What if he is lying? He does that."

Volugg smiled. "Better or worse than you?"

The girl frowned, but the orc put a hand on her shoulder.

"I will let you decide of course. But try to at least look in his general direction?"

It was difficult, but Snowfur nodded. It was better than trying to argue with him. She did not agree with him at all. Her father was a monster and he was trying to manipulate her. Tears started to form again in her eyes. Volugg left her for a few moments to calm down. Only until Stub shoved his misshapen head through the door did she manage to feel better. No one could feel upset looking at Stub struggle to squeeze through the door.

Snowfur entered the main room again and picked up her bowl to eat the second helping of stew. She glanced over at her father to get a better look at him. He no longer wore the familiar armor that the girl remembered him always wearing. The armor he wore was leather. It wasn't surprising that Snowfur hadn't heard him when she chased Stub into the tall grass. He looked smaller than he used to. She had rarely seen his face before, but the times she had seen it, it had scared her. Now, she could not see the anger in his expression. His glowing eyes seemed dimmer.

Working up her courage, Snowfur cleared her throat.

"Hi."

Arthas did not respond. Snowfur frowned, "Hello, father."

The man suddenly looked up. She flinched and lowered her eyes to look over at Volugg. He sat casually next to Mudfur, but Snowfur noticed he was gripping the wolf's fur tightly.

"Hello, Sapphire," Arthas replied. His voice sounded so different. Rather than a deep booming voice, it was shallow and ragged.

Snowfur awkwardly corrected him, "My name is Snowfur."

It took him a second to reply. Snowfur thought he would get angry, but when she looked over at him, he merely nodded.

"Snowfur. I will try to remember that."

Silence overwhelmed the room after that. Arthas seemed just as disinclined to speak to her and Volugg did not push either of them. Arthas opened his mouth to speak again, but Snowfur flinched. He closed his mouth, and angry flashed across his face. He got to his feet, and Snowfur fled behind Volugg. Her father went to the door and wrenched it open. Outside, rain fell hard. Without hesitation, Arthas headed out into the storm and shut the door behind him.

Volugg huffed and added a couple of logs to the fire. "He has a long way to go."

Snowfur glanced over at the orc. "What do you mean?"

"He is struggling with himself. He is confused, and there is no one to help him."

Snowfur wanted to say he didn't deserve any help, but she knew Volugg would not listen. So she kept silent. The old orc was nice, but he didn't seem to understand just what a monster her father was. Secretly, she hoped he would be struck by lightning.

_________  
Hours later, Arthas stumbled back into the hut. The rain soaked his clothes completely through, and his boots were coated in mud, but he didn't notice much. Being outside in the fierce winds and flashes of deadly lightning helped clear his head. Following Sapphire had been a bad idea. He should have left her on her own. When he had awoken on the icy ground, alone and disoriented, he had no purpose in life. There was nothing left for him. Except for her.

Next to the fire, Sapphire slept deeply. His entrance did not stir her. The urge to wake her crossed his mind, but he instantly regretted that thought. She hated and feared him for real reasons. Even from the door, he could see a pale scar exposed near her neck. He caused that scar. He had caused every single scar on her body. Everything awful about her life had been caused by him. Either he ignored her and let her starve, or he finally gave her attention in the form of pain and torment. No wonder she had passed out at the sight of him.

In her sleep, Sapphire look small and fragile. Her snowy hair covered her face. Arthas slowly approached her. He pulled off his soaked glove and knelt. She didn't make a sound or moved until he brushed her hair out of the way. Then she unconsciously frowned and repositioned herself. Rather than risk waking her, Arthas went back to his unofficial spot in the corner of the room.

Next to his spot was the skinned lion. While she had been passed out before, Volugg had told Arthas how to skin it and cure the hide. Arthas slowly took off his armor and laid them next to the drying hide. Arthas took off his cloak so he could toss it to the side. The thing was saturated with water and was no use as a blanket or makeshift pillow. Rot and the rest of Arthas's things were back at the inn. He planned on returning to the inn first thing in the morning, rain or no rain.

Arthas was about to lie down, but the orc's wolf walked over to him just then. The man looked into the wolf's brown eyes. She stared at him for what seemed like forever, before she laid down next to him. Her bones creaked as she settled. Arthas sat there for a moment before he too laid down.

_________  
Snowfur stood in the middle of a misty forest. She knew what trees were, but she had never seen so many in her life. And they looked nothing like the few snow covered ones she had seen in Northrend or even the skinny bristled trees next to Volugg's house. These trees had bark the color of night. The leaves were black as the bark or the dark grey of the sky. Unlike the straight, needled trees in Northrend, the dark trees were twisted, like broken bodies in torment. She had never been in a place like this, but it somehow seemed familiar.

She approached a tree cautiously and reached out to touch it. Her fingers touched liquid, and when she drew her hand back, she could see blood on her fingertips. Snowfur had no aversion to blood and was not scared or disgusted, merely confused.

Another thing about this forest that confused her was that it was silent. No animals roamed the forest. Snowfur once read that animals lived in the woods like deer or wolves. But there was nothing. Not even a single bird. Only the trees seemed to live in this strange place. Such isolation was not new to Snowfur, but the atmosphere of the trees unnerved her.

_Come to me._

____

____

__The girl whipped around, looking around the forest. Still, there was nothing. Just trees and the mist. The mist was so thick, Snowfur could not even see her feet and the ground below her._ _

__"Who are you?" She called out._ _

_I am your only family. That...thing that calls himself your father is nothing to you. I am your real father. ___

____

____Snowfur wanted to ask him what that meant, but she suddenly saw movement in the silver mist. It looked human, but Snowfur had never seen a human so tall as this creature. She might have thought it was at least ten feet tall. Something was off about its head. It almost seemed like the creature had tree limbs growing out of its head. There was an overwhelming sense of danger. Snowfur backed away, starting to breathe hard._ _ _ _

____"No! Leave me alone!" She screamed, feeling terrified of this large dark creature approaching her._ _ _ _

____The next thing she felt was cold hands on her. Her eyes focused and she saw her father over her. She instantly shoved him away._ _ _ _

____"Don't touch me!" She snarled at him, trembling._ _ _ _

____She saw his jaw tighten, but he merely backed away from her. Volugg came out moments later._ _ _ _

____"Are you okay?" The orc rumbled. Snowfur nodded, restraining the need to cry. Not only was she having nightmares, but she had to be near...him. Volugg scowled and glanced at Arthas. The man lowered his head and merely made to leave the hut. But as soon as he opened the door, he froze._ _ _ _

____"Volugg, does it...snow here that often?"_ _ _ _

____The orc had been about to start making breakfast, but he glanced over at the man in bemusement. "No? It never snows here."_ _ _ _

____Arthas turned back. "You mean it has never snowed here before now."_ _ _ _

____Volugg dropped his pot and scrambled over to the door as quickly as his limp allowed him. He looked out the door. Worried, Snowfur ran over to them and shoved her way past Arthas._ _ _ _

____Outside, a thick layer of snow blanketed the landscape. Some of it had started to melt already and turned it into mush. Volugg stared in disbelief, mouth partially opened. Even if it was a weird occurrence, snow is snow. Snowfur loved snow and couldn't resist going out and touching the white powder._ _ _ _

____"This is wrong! Very wrong! What is going on with the elements? I...I need a moment," Volugg stammered. He slowly turned around and went into his room, slamming the door. Snowfur was left alone with Arthas. The two looked at each other._ _ _ _

____Arthas cleared his throat. "I need to go to the inn. I will be back in maybe an hour."_ _ _ _

____With that, he walked past Snowfur and left Volugg's farm. Snowfur watched him go, hoping he never came back._ _ _ _


	8. Chapter 8

Stub rolled around the snow, cackling happily. Snow clung to his pale grey fur. While he ran around gleefully, Snowfur collected up a pile of the melting snow, attempting to construct a wall. Her whole life had been in the cold. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, Snowfur missed snow and cold. The Barrens was hot. Sweat was a new experience that Snowfur disliked greatly. It seemed that the weather took pity on her. Playing with the snow distracted her from her problems.

In the middle of her play, Volugg left his hut. He leaned heavily on his staff. He watched Snowfur with a furrowed brow. Snowfur gave up trying to pile up the snow as it continued to melt. Stub became interested in the pile and jumped onto it. Snow sprayed against Snowfur.

The girl let Stub frolic about while she went over to Volugg.

"Are you all right, Volugg?" She asked.

The orc grunted. "No. I consulted with the spirits. Something is wrong with our world."

Snowfur gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? Our world. You mean the whole world?"

Volugg nodded, "You remember what I told you about the elements and the spirits?"

The girl did remember about the dirt, water, air, and fire as well as dead people talking to their living relatives. With the storms, earthquakes, and fires that Volugg had mentioned the elements were upset about something. Now with the snow, Snowfur assumed it was something really bad.

"What are you gonna do? Can you make the world feel better?" Snowfur asked.

Volugg gave her a look of surprise for a second then smiled. "Oh, child. It's not as simple as that. I personally cannot make the world better but perhaps with the help of others I can."

Snowfur perked up. "Other shamans?"

With some effort, Volugg got to his feet. Snowfur followed suit quickly and handed him his staff. He reentered the hut, with Snowfur trailing after. The orc went into the corner of the room where a trunk sat. Snowfur had noticed it before but never bothered to peek inside it. Volugg opened it now, and she saw an old leather pack, a few books, some rocks and wood with carvings etched onto them, and the most notable object being a well-worn battleax. Volugg took everything out and started packing.

"I will go speak with other shamans. Perhaps some druids as well, like Riverdream. I'm not in the best of health, but I am still of use."

Snowfur started handing him whatever he asked her too, excited.

"Do you think I could learn to be a shaman while we are with the others?"

Volugg instantly stopped packing and looked at her in shock. "You are not coming with me."

The girl stood there, confused.

"Where will I go? You are leaving me?"

"No, no. I mean yes I am. But I will be finding someone else to take you in. Don't be afraid. Perhaps Riverdream will take you in. She has several kids and a very understanding husband. You would be happier with her instead of an old bachelor like me."

Tears started to form in Snowfur's eyes. Volugg sighed. "I'm sorry."

Snowfur sniffed. She had only been with Volugg for a short while, but he had been the kindest person she had ever met. And he was leaving her. Before he could say anything, the girl rushed out of the house.

She did not stop until she reached the outskirts of Ratchet. Even in town, there was snow, but Snowfur did not notice. Tears streamed down her face. A palm tree with some spiky shrubs nearby provided her a place to collapse behind and cry in relative solitude.

A cold, wet nose pressed against her arm. Snowfur pushed it away.

"Go away Stub."

Stub persisted, shoving his head underneath her arm and sniffing her wet face. The hyena licked her face gently. He then proceeded to lay down next to her. How long she laid there, Snowfur did not know. Despite the previous snow, the sun quickly warmed Ratchet quickly. Eventually, Snowfur's skin felt warm, and she knew she would probably have some sunburns if she did not get into some shade.

She heard footsteps come up to her and as she sat up, the girl saw a pack set down on the ground and a pair of feet. She looked up. Volugg gave her an understanding look. Next to him, Mudfur stood stoically. He had her bow and arrows in his hands, but he placed those down next to her as well.

"You'll find a ship in Ratchet headed to the Eastern Kingdoms. I gave you plenty of gold for passage."

Snowfur hesitantly took the pack. She tried to open her mouth to apologize, but the orc held up one hand. "Don't even think about it. I understand that you are hurting and scared. But I need to help this world if I can. Besides...You don't need me. You need other humans."

The girl shook her head. She did not want or need other humans. Humans were horrible creatures. Her father was one for example.

Volugg knelt next to her. "When I am done, I'll come find you. How about that?"

Snowfur frowned. "How will you do that?"

The orc smiled and pulled out a necklace from his bag. The string was rough leather, and jagged teeth hung from it. He placed the necklace in Snowfur's hands and put his hand over hers.

"Those are Mudfur's teeth from when she was no bigger than your hyena friend. Wear this. She and I will eventually find you."

The girl felt overwhelmed at the gesture and almost started crying again. But she put the necklace on instead. She then collected her things and stood up.

"Thank you," She whispered, before hugging Volugg. The orc grunted in surprise but let her do it for a couple of seconds before firmly detaching her.

He gestured to the docks. "I packed all of your things in your bag, so you don't need to linger. Now go on!"

Snowfur nodded and left without another word. Stub chased after her. He tried to rush off and explore, but the girl grabbed the patch of loose skin around his neck and kept a firm grip on it. Stub cackled.

The ships all looked intimidating to her. Already she remembered the crashing white water, the cracking of wood and the screams of sailors. She started to shake but Stub looked up to her with his large eyes, and she smiled down at him.

"I'm fine. You can't board a ship and crash twice in a row right?"

Stub had no answer for her, but she tried to tell herself that it was true. Ships are supposed to be safe most of the time, she assumed. This time she wouldn't sneak aboard. Stub's hyperactive and loud nature prevented that kind of thing. Volugg had given her gold so she would go around and ask which ship was heading for...The Eastern Kingdoms? She had no idea what that was, but Volugg had said to go there so she would go there.

Just as she reached the beginning of the docks, a familiar and horrible voice spoke up behind her.

"Where are you going?"

She snapped around, and her father stood there. He had left Volugg's to collect his things and unfortunately he had noticed her.

"None of your business!" Snowfur snapped. Stub growled at Arthas's pack. The man quickly pulled it forward and opened. A little head popped up, and Snowfur was taken aback. Rot's dead eyes seemed to light up upon seeing her, and he tried to leap out, but Arthas caught him before the dog could fall to the ground. As Snowfur looked at the small undead puppy, memories came rushing back.  
_______  
_"His name is Rot. He is your new friend."_

_Sapphire giggled at the small creature licked her furiously. After a minute the thing got squirmy, so the girl put him down onto the snow. Rot quickly rush off, hopping through the snow as he explored the wide open area. Dark clouds loomed above, and the entire area was surrounded by dark metal walls, but it was all Sapphire knew._

_The girl watched the thing for a while before glancing up at the death knight standing next to her._

_"But what is it, Uncle Marwyn? Looks too weird to be a cat."_

_The death knight laughed. "No, little one. It's a dog. You've seen dogs before. You know...like plaguehounds?"_

_Sapphire frowned. "But...it's so small!"_

_The undead man ruffled her hair with a gloved hand. "Silly. It's a puppy dog. Everything starts small when it's born. Like you! You are incredibly small!"_

_Rot stopped running around in the snow for a second and stood there, looking around. He then looked back at Sapphire and with a yelp, rushed back to her, his single ear flopping in the wind. The girl knelt and picked him up. Rot licked her again._

_"He's so cute!"_

_Marwyn glanced down at her. "I'm glad you like him." ___

________  
Snowfur snatched Rot out of Arthas's hands. "You have no right to touch him!"

The second she yelled at him she expected him to kill her. He clenched his jaw but made no movement toward her at all, not even when she backed away.

"I saved him for you. Just don't hold him too roughly. I had to stitch him recently."

Snowfur frowned and looked down at Rot. The undead puppy panted happily. His tail wagged furiously. Stub hopped up on Snowfur's leg to sniff Rot curiously.

The girl sighed and whispered, "Thank you."

Arthas's expression was unreadable, but at least he wasn't angry.

"Where do you think you can go? You think getting back on a ship is safe? You could have died on the last one!"

Snowfur shook her head. Arthas frowned, then glanced toward the docks. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. He growled but walked off toward the docks. Despite her better judgment, curiosity got the better of Sapphire. Arthas glanced at each ship, seemingly looking for a specific one. Most of them had red sails, and a lot of them were harsh and covered in metal. He finally found a ship with green sails, and that was the one he wanted.

The girl knew nothing about ships, but it looked alright to her. The wooden sides were crusted over with stuff, but it floated. She assumed that it was a good sign. She watched him approach a sailor. He pulled his hood up before the sailor could see him. The girl followed to overhear their conservation.

"Nice ship. From Kul Tiras I wager?" Arthas asked curiously.

The sailor nodded. "Aye Called the Seagull, milord."

"Very rare to see nowadays. You Kul Tirans keep to yourselves I thought," Arthas had a casual, friendly tone in his voice that Snowfur did not like one bit.

The sailor shrugged and pulled out a bottle of something to drink."Aye but merchants gotta make money. Even if it is by coming to vile ports such as these."

Arthas gave him an understanding look. "Obviously vile. Greenskins everywhere but money is money. The Seagull wouldn't be taking passengers perchance, would they? My daughter and I do not wish to stay in such a place for too long."

After one swig of the bottle, the sailor gestured to a better dressed and cleaner man. Snowfur guessed that was the captain. Arthas glanced back at the girl before going off to see the captain. Snowfur sat down on one of the dock's wooden pilings.

Rot started licking her face. Tears stung in her eyes.

"I missed you too," She whispered. Next to her, Stub whined at Rot. The undead puppy tilted his head at the hyena and barked.

Eventually, Arthas came back. He did not look happy.

"I managed to get you your own room. Even paid for that mongrel's passage," He grunted, nodding toward Stub.

Snowfur scowled, "Volugg gave me money."

Arthas smirked. "I doubt he gave you as much as I had to pay. Kul Tirans don't like to take 'mainlanders' to their home."

The girl didn't even want to go to whatever Kul Tiras was. It sounded stupid. She wanted to go with Volugg and get as far away from her father as possible. So she promptly told him.

"I don't want you coming with me."

Arthas's face darkened. "You'd be dead if I hadn't saved you. I saved your little dog! You need-"

Snowfur cut him off. "What I need from you is for you to die!"

She didn't wait for a reply and just walked off to the boat, tears starting to form in her eyes. She paid no mind to any of the sailors that were milling about on the top of the ship. Snowfur had no idea where her supposed room was, but the captain saw her and approached.

"Good day, little miss. Your cabin is-" He felt silent when he saw the tears in her eyes. Snowfur saw him look past her and knew Arthas was coming, but the captain just cleared his throat.

"Your room is down below. Take those stairs, and it will be the first door on the left." He pointed to the stairs that descended into the ship.

Snowfur nodded and sniffled. "Thank you."

She did not look back toward her father and went quickly where the captain had gestured. Stub instantly followed her, pushing past a sailor who cursed at the hyena. As the captain said, there was a door on the left, and she quickly whipped the door open. She shoved Stub in and closed the door. Rot hopped to the floor and instantly started to investigate the small room. It barely fit all three of them, but Sapphire did not care. She was used to sleeping in small spaces. The bed was attached to the wall, and she instantly flung herself onto it. She sobbed into the pillow even though it smelled like salt and mold.

Stub knew something was wrong and tried his best to climb onto the bed. It was just big enough for them both, so he managed to curl up next to her and cackled in concern. But nothing the hyena or even Rot could do would help Snowfur.


	9. Chapter 9

Anger filled Arthas as Sapphire fled from him. He attempted to catch up to her in order to confront her but as he went forward, he saw the captain approach the girl. They spoke for a moment before Sapphire retreated below decks. At that point the rage inside had passed. Arthas reluctantly came on board the ship, intending to just go below and find someplace where he wouldn't be bothered.

Instead, the captain amiably approach Arthas as well.

"Is something wrong, mister Andrew? Your daughter-"

Arthas cut him off. "How long till we reach Kul Tiras?"

The captain took the hint quickly enough.

"Of course. It might take two weeks but my ship is fast and reliable. With good weather, perhaps a week and a half."

The man nodded absentmindedly. He honestly did not care exactly how many days it would take. He had just needed to change the subject. What he really cared about is how to make his daughter hate him less. Instead of speaking to his daughter, he would have to endure the captain's ramblings.

"We will have to stop briefly by Drustvar to deliver supplies to Falconhurst but after that we will have a straight shot to Boralus. Have you ever been to Boralus, Mister Andrew?"

Arthas turned to look at the captain. "No. Will it be difficult for a foreigner like me to enter?"

The captain shrugged. "Difficult to say. Someone of your...condition might be considered a threat. Show off that daughter of yours and the harbormaster might take pity on you. If not, there are people you might be able to buy off to enter. Or you could just get off in Drustvar and travel overland?"

This interested Arthas. "Drustvar? I don't where that is."

With a wave, the captain directed Arthas toward his own cabin. As most well off captains, this man had a decently furnished cabin. It was only as he looked around did Arthas realize he had forgotten the captains name already. A table stood in the middle of the room, covered with various kinds of maps. The captain unscrolled a map of Kul Tiras. It had been years since Arthas had seen Kul Tiras on a map. As prince, he should know the ins and outs of each human kingdom and had learned as much as he could about them. Arthas briefly remembered an elderly teacher reprimanding him when he was a boy and couldn't read a map properly.

The captain pointed to the eastern region of Kul Tiras. "Here is Drustvar. Heavily forested and mountainous. Lots of ores to be found. Personally, I wouldn't recommend you traveling through."

Arthas scowled. "And why not?"

At this point, the captain fidgeted. "Well. To be sure, you are quite the freak. I'm a ship captain so I'm used to dealing with people like you, but Drustvar's people are superstitious. They would not hesitate to burn you at the stake."

While he was in a foul mood, Arthas did have to let out a laugh. "Well, they could definitely try."

The captain smiled uneasily but his tone remained serious. "Yes, sir. If you want to travel through Drustvar, just be careful. Things happen in the forests of Drustvar. Wolves, highwaymen, and some say witches. Especially because of your girl. Apparently witches eat children. I doubt they exist but wolves and highwaymen are definitely real and they do not show any mercy."

Arthas thanked the captain for the information and went off to find a place to think. He didn't bother looking for his daughter's cabin but found a dark corner next to large barrels. Arthas dumped his belongings next to them and laid down. Despite the seriousness of the captain's tone, Arthas could not take his warnings seriously. Nothing, not wolves, not highwaymen, not even witches, could match Arthas in malice and evil. Though his defeat at the hands of Tirion Fordring had severely weakened him and broken his resolve, Arthas remained mostly the same. He hated being so weak. While he could kill everyone on the ship as well as Ratchet, he could not get back his kingdom. And that depressed him. After he woke from his defeat, there was a temptation inside him to end it all. What was the point of him surviving?

That was when he had remembered his daughter. That weak, idiotic child of his. Everytime she had seen him, she refused to meet his eyes. If her name wasn't Sapphire, Arthas would have forgot what her eye color was. He never saw her eyes until she saw him kill that lion and met his eyes. Many times he had though to just kill her and use her for parts but unfortunately she was his child. He would not demean his own blood and flesh by using it as reagents for experimentation.

Sapphire was a pathetic reason to live but it was better than nothing.

________

The forest dominated her dreams once more. Everything looked the same as her last dream. Trees twisted into the air while mists clung to everything. The area was bleached of all color. Even the forest floor looked grey like dust. As before, Snowfur reached out to touch one of the tormented trees. Black blood covered her hand. The sense of familiarity overwhelmed her as it did in the last dream. This time however, she saw life. A single bird. It stood on a rock in the middle of a clearing. Curious, the girl approached the bird.

"Hello-" Snowfur started to greet the bird, but realized that it was not a normal bird. Instead of a feathered head, the skull was exposed. But the bird looked up at her with its empty eye sockets.

"Oh! Are you okay, bird?" The girl asked, concerned.

The bird merely shrieked and flew away, disappearing into the oppressive mists. Snowfur thought to follow it, but hesitated to do so. Before she could decide, a voice echoed through the forest.

So, you are on your way to me. Finally, after all these years I can see you in person. _I have missed you, Kalma._

____

____

Snowfur saw the figure from her last dream. The giant with tree limbs on his head. That was all the features she could discern, for he kept a distance from her.

"Who are you? That's not my name! My name is Snowfur!"

_A lie you tell yourself. I understand your hatred of HIM. But Sapphire is not your name either. I named you Kalma first, since your mother refused to name you. I almost had you to myself, but that monster took you from me and named you after a chunk of rock. _The creature sounded furious and Snowfur took a few steps back, overwhelmed by its tone and all the information.__

____

____

"So, Arthas is not my real father?"

The shadowy figure moved through the forest, circling Snowfur threateningly. The girl was terrified. _He sired you, true. But you are the result of MY desires. I am your true father and only kin._

____

____

"You are not a human though!" Snowfur blurted out. It seemed obvious that this gigantic creature was not human but what confused her the most was that it claimed that it was somehow related to her.

_No. And neither are you._

____

____

_________

Three days into the voyage, Snowfur was bored. She spent her days sleeping mostly, though she would leave her room to eat and for bodily needs for both her and Stub. It was interesting to teach Stub how to use a toilet but now Snowfur just felt empty inside while she lay on her tiny bed. Playing with Rot or Stub only entertained her for an hour or so. She wanted to go up on the deck, to watch the sailors work or look at the clouds. But she was afraid to come across her father. She never saw him on her brief excursions but he might eventually come across her and beat her for the outburst she had days ago. So Snowfur remained in her room until she finally could take it no more.

The girl unlocked her door and let Stub rush out before her. Rot stayed curled up asleep on her bed. Cautiously, she looked out of her room into the thin hallway. The only person around was a sailor asleep on the floor with a few bottle around him.

Snowfur went above deck and regretted it. She loved the clear blue sky and the fresh breeze that blew her hair back but she as she looked past the sides of the ship, fear sunk in.

There was no land. Not a single rock to be seen. Dark water surrounded her for who knows how many miles. When she had stowed away on the ship in Northrend, she never looked out. She kept hidden the entire voyage, until the night the ship crashed and she had to fight to live. There was no learning how to swim in Northrend. For her whole life, before Icecrown was invaded, she had never seen any more water than what would fill a bathtub. It scared her to see so much water from land. Volugg had taught her enough about swimming to keep herself from drowning but the sight of endless water and sky caused Snowfur to rush over to the side of the boat and vomit off the side. Only afterwards did she realize she was now on the edge of the ship. One push would send her into the depths.

She instantly backed away and ran down the stairs. Right into her father. Stub yipped as she almost landed onto him.

Snowfur fell backwards against the stairs and looked up in fear. Her father seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"Why are you running?" He demanded. The girl quickly sprang up and ran back on deck. She saw a few barrels on the deck and crawled behind them, trying to restrain tears. Stub followed her and started to lick her face. Rot was no where to be found.

Arthas did not approach her, and after she waited what seemed like hours, she slowly made her way down to her room, but she saw Arthas down in the hall. He was holding Rot and saying things to the undead puppy. The dog wagged his tail. The man then set down the dog and walked off. A piece of paper was in his mouth.

Rot saw the girl and wagged his tail, then ran up to her. He offered the piece of paper. Snowfur took it and opened it.

_Meet me tonight on the deck._

____

____

Snowfur scoffed and tossed the paper aside.


	10. Chapter 10

For days, the fog obscured everything. It had rolled in a week after the ship had sailed out of Ratchet. The captain had been forced to make the ship move at a crawl and the slow pace due to the fog had a negative effect on the crew. The first day was fine but sailors were a suspicious lot. The men grew irritable as days passed. Mild fights broke out. None threatened Arthas but they shot dark glances in his general direction. These did not bother Arthas one bit but what bothered him was when he saw the crew members start giving Sapphire similar looks.

She seemed oblivious to the tense situation on board the ship. If he had told her to stay inside her room, she would not have listened to him. He had attempted to reconcile with her many times but each time she fled at the sight of him. Instead whenever she left her room, Arthas made sure to watch her from the shadows.

One night, Sapphire left her room to get a meal. She cradled Rot in her arms like a baby, with the hyena trailing behind her. Arthas got up to follow her but before either one could do anything, a particularly drunk sailor came down the hall. He carried a half empty bottle of alcohol.

"Hey, pretty girl," The sailor said, each word badly slurred.

Sapphire instantly backed away and Arthas came out of the shadows immediately.

"I suggest you go back to your cot and sleep off all that booze," Arthas stated firmly.

The sailor blinked drunkenly at him then sneered.

"You talking to me, corpse?"

Arthas smiled. Before Sapphire could react, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

The sailor got pissed and snapped, "I just wanted a kiss from that little bitch. Don't be jealous, you rotting piece of meat."

Rage engulfed Arthas and he grabbed the sailor by the throat and shoved him against the wall. He heard a surprised noise and saw Sapphire in the corner of his eye. She had fallen back and was looking at the exchange in horror. Arthas almost let the sailor off for his drunken behavior but as soon as he let the sailor go, the drunk idiot swung bottle at Arthas's head. The bottle shattered and rage overcame Arthas.

He slammed the sailor against the wall. The sailor tried to punch him but it was futile. Only a drunkard would be foolish enough to attack a deathknight and expect to survive.

"Mother fucker!"

Arthas grabbed the arm of the sailor and twisted it hard. The sailor cried out in agony. Suddenly panic set in. The other sailors were going to hear him. Arthas instantly covered the sailors mouth, and tried to decide what to do. He could not just let the man go. He would tell the others.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthas saw Sapphire cowering in the corner still. Again, he felt like he was willing to let the sailor go but the man bit his hand. Arthas let his anger go then. He slammed the man's head against the wall, disorienting the sailor momentarily. He then kicked the man in the knee to force him down. The sailor realized his predicament.

"Wait, wait. I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

Arthas grabbed the man's head and twisted it hard, until he heard a crack and pop. The man's body went limp. Arthas dropped the body without a thought, but a small whimper made him remember that Sapphire was still there.

He turned around and Sapphire instantly cowered back. Next to her, the mongrel pet of hers realized what was going on and gave Arthas a warning growl. Rot sat in Sapphire's arms with a conflicted look in his beetle black eyes. Sapphire was trapped in a corner between a couple of large barrels. Arthas looked at the barrels curiously and then back at the dead sailor.

"I'm going to hide the body in one of those barrels behind you. Move," Arthas growled at the girl. She did not hesitate to scurry away as her father easily picked up the body and dragged it over to the barrels. Most of them were full of supplies, but one only held a small amount of rope. The man flung the rope away and attempted to shove the body into the barrel. It did not fit.

Arthas cursed. He then unsheathed his sword and held it up. He then looked back at Sapphire.

"You might want to shut your eyes," Arthas suggested in a softer tone. Unfortunately she had regained her composure.

Sapphire scowled at him. "No!"

Rather than argue, Arthas proceeded to dismember the body. He had to do it quickly before any other sailors came down looking for their drunk comrade. Using the common steel sword he owned, he cut off the legs and arms. Sapphire just watched him coldly. After he managed to stuff most of the body into the barrel, he heard a cry from topside.

"Land ho!"

Luck was with them. Arthas and Sapphire might be able to leave the ship before anyone noticed the disappearance of one sailor.

"Get your things," Arthas snapped at Sapphire. She needed no further prompting.

Blood coated Arthas's arms so he quickly found one barrel full of water and dunked his arms into the water. For a split second he found the idea of the sailors drinking blood tainted water amusing. Better that than getting so drunk they harass little girls.

As soon as Sapphire came out carrying her belongings and Rot, Arthas grabbed his own things. He caught Sapphire's attention and gestured to the body filled barrel.

His voice was more threatening than he had intended. "Not a word to anyone. Got it?"

Sapphire nodded quickly. With some more luck, Arthas led her up to the deck of the ship, hoping nothing else went wrong.

In the distance, land emerged through the fog. Distant lights of a coastal town twinkled. Soon, what looked to be simple docks appeared over the water. Sailors prepped the ship for docking. Despite the small appearance of the docks, it seemed that the captain was confident enough to approach them.

Arthas felt tense during the entire process of docking. He wished to disembark as quickly as possible. At any moment, one of the sailors might go below and find the dead body of their mate. Then the alarm would be raised and Arthas would no doubt have to kill the entire crew. He might have to kill the townsfolk as well if they witnessed anything. Arthas had no qualms about doing it but he doubted that slaughtering an entire town would help him in gaining his daughter's trust. Even now she was glancing at him nervously. She had no intention of thanking him for saving her from that drunken idiot.

_______  
Snowfur was terrified. Minutes before, her father had brutally murdered a sailor. It did not matter that she had seen him do worse. Before, he had rarely ever paid attention to her. She was less than a ghoul to him. Something to kick at if she got in his way. She learned early on to stay out of his way.

But now he had been paying far too much attention towards her. Killing the soldier for seemingly no reason just reiterated the fact that he could do much worse to her. The captain safely brought ship to the docks and Arthas nearly pushed the girl off the boat in his rush to leave. Snowfur didn't know why he didn't just kill the entire ship of people but he clearly did not want to be anywhere near the ship when the dead sailor was eventually discovered.

The town, which the captain called Falconhurst, might have impressed Snowfur if she wasn't feeling so uneasy. The coastal town looked nothing like Ratchet. Most of the buildings in Ratchet were made out of stone. Wood was scarce in the barrens. Falconhurst looked more similar to the town in Northrend she had visited briefly before stowing away on her first ship. The buildings were mostly made out of wood. The smell of salt and fish was overwhelming. Briefly the girl thought of the shelled food that Volugg had introduced her to and looked off the side of the docks into the water. The water looked nothing like the water that crashed against the shore of the Barrens. This water was slick with gleaming oil. A dead, rotten fish was tangled in a floating patch of net. Snowfur's appetite for seafood immediately left her.

"Sapphire, come." Her father snapped at her. Instantly Snowfur followed him, dragging Stub away by a handful of neck fur. He had tried to paw at the dead fish in the water, unperturbed by the smell.

There were people wandering on the docks and in the town, but all of them made plenty of room as Arthas and Snowfur passed. The girl didn't blame them for the aversion to her father. It showed that they had common sense.

Arthas led her through town but instead of admiring the unique buildings and people, Snowfur looked for a way to escape from her father. She finally found an opportunity to leave when she saw a dark path between two buildings. Arthas had stopped briefly to ask someone something and the girl took the risk. She quickly left when his back was turned and ran between the houses. The sound of paws hitting dirt told her that Stub followed. Rot poked his head out of her pack briefly and barked. She slipped over a fence and fell into a pig pen. Stub jumped over, startling the pigs. Snowfur quickly went over the second fence and hid behind a shed. Stub followed her, making excited cackling noises. The girl shushed him but the hyena seemed to think it was all a game. She finally grabbed his snout and kept him quiet by force. Stub didn't struggled so the girl reward him with a pet from her free hand. His stubby tail wagged happily.

"Caw!"

Snowfur jumped at the sudden noise and looked up. On a barrel next to her sat a black bird with a large beak and bright blue eyes. She'd never seen a bird like it before but it seemed familiar. Next to her, Stub growled through his shut mouth.

"Oh. Hello bird!" The girl whispered. The bird tilted its head and cawed quickly put a finger to her mouth. "Shhh! I'm hiding."

The bird looked at her inquisitively then pecked at her hair.

"Ow! How rude!"

Stub broke free from her hand finally and lunged at the bird, teeth gleaming. The bird squawked and tried to fly away, but Stub caught one wing in his mouth. He slammed the bird into the ground. Snowfur gasped in horror.

"No Stub! Bad! Bad boy!" She yelled at him. Stub dropped the now limp bird and whined. He tried to approach her, tail between his legs but Snowfur wouldn't have it. She smacked him on the nose.

"Bad hyena!"

Stub recoiled and proceeded to lay on the ground, clearly dismayed by her attitude.

Snowfur decided that it was time to leave and started to move from the shed, but before she could a large ice cold hand grabbed her upper arm.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

The girl screamed and tried to escape her father but he had a saronite hard grip on her. She tried to kick him but it was useless. Stub looked conflicted over whether or not Arthas was a threat or not.

Arthas pulled her closer to him. "I will only ask once more. What are you doing?"

"Trying to escape!" Snowfur sobbed, still trying to claw his hand off of her.

He released her and the suddenness of it caused her to fall over backward. Her head hit the barrel that the bird had previously perched on and pain exploded across the back of her skull. Rot crawled out of her pack and barked angrily at Arthas. The girl rubbed her head.

The anger was clear on her father's face. She expected him to hurt her but he merely started to yell. She might have preferred to be kicked. "You are such a stupid, ignorant child! I protected you from that sailor! But you are trying to 'escape' me? You know what? Fine, go and see how long you last without me or that orc you befriended! I give it a night before you come crawling back to me!"

Snowfur winced at his booming voice and cowered before him. Arthas pointed to road that left the town to disappear into the dark forests beyond.

"Go on! Go be prey for wolves or highwaymen. I won't come save you. There is no one that will help you besides me! Marwyn is dead. Falric is dead. Kel'thuzad is dead! I am all you have left but go on. Leave."

The girl thought he was tricking her. As soon as she ran away, he would hurt her more than what he'd down to her head. But she decided to risk it. She snatched up her pack and fled to the forests. Rot whined, looking back at the shrinking figure of Arthas. He then jumped out of her pack.

"Rot?" Snowfur stopped before entering the forest. Rot glanced at her briefly, before running back towards Arthas. Stub sniffed in the dog's direction, clearly confused. Snowfur felt tears start to form in her eyes as the dog abandoned her. The girl saw her father bend down to pick up Rot and then looked at Snowfur with a strange look on his face. She had no idea but it almost seemed like he was disappointed.

Snowfur turned her back on him and entered the forest.


	11. Chapter 11

The forest differed greatly from the Barrens and Northrend. Great thick tree trunks surrounded Snowfur in a comforting way. For almost her entire life. she lived within confining metal walls of Icecrown Citadel. The few times she went outside, walls and large rock cliffs still surrounded her. When she left Icecrown Citadel for good, the wide open expanses of snow had terrified her. Even the Barrens made her uncomfortable. The forest provided Snowfur comfort. The sky could barely be seen between the leaves on the trees. Leaves on the forest floor crunched under her feet like snow.

Stub seemed to enjoy himself as he ran over all the leaves. At one point, he flat out jumped into a small pile of them. The leaves flew into the air after his landing. Besides the noises the two created, the forest was very quiet. Snowfur thought forests would have birds chirping or wolves howling, but there was nothing. Snowfur had never seen a squirrel but she had read about them and looked for one in the treetops, but she saw nothing. The forest seemed lifeless.

With zero sense of direction, Snowfur wandered the forest without any idea of where she was going. She never worried about getting lost. Her father was gone. He had let her just run away and had not followed her. Snowfur felt relief even as she wandered the dark woods.

That was how she felt for a hour, until her stomach started growling. Snowfur spied a bush underneath one of the trees. Bright white berries dotted the bush. Snowfur had never eaten a white berry before but she thought they were harmless. White did not seem a dangerous color. Snow was white. Stub was whitish grey. Even her own hair was white. Surely the berries were fine.

Snowfur approached the berry bush without hesitation and started to pick the berries off the bush. Stub sniffed the berries but seemed uninterested. Just as the girl held up a handful of berries to her mouth, she saw bright green eyes shine within the bush.

The girl yelped and fell over backwards trying to retreat from the bush. The berries she had picked dropped to the ground.

"Those are poisonous, you know," A voice called from the bush.

Snowfur sat up and peered into the bush. The bright eyes belonged to nothing more dangerous than a human boy. The girl cursed herself for getting so alarmed at his appearance. The boy partially left the bush so Snowfur could see him more clearly. Dark tawny skin had helped camouflage him within the bush. He was skinny, though not nearly as skinny as Snowfur was. Twigs and leaves poked out from his night black hair. He wore a variety of different furs. All in all, the boy blended into the forest besides for his unnaturally bright emerald eyes.

"Did I scare you?" The boy asked, tilting his head. Stub trotted over to the boy and sniffed him curiously.

Snowfur instantly grew defensive. "No!"

The boy smiled at her tone, which caused her to get angry. She stood up and glared at him.

"What did you mean by poisonous? I can't eat those berries?" She demanded. The boy stood up in turn and she was happy to see that though he had more meat on his bones than her, he was shorter than her by more than a foot in height.

"Yes! Unless you want to be in lots of pain and possibly die. Have you never seen mistletoe before?"

Snowfur shook her head. The boy then smiled.

"It was good that I was here then! I saved you."

The girl scowled darkly and put her hands on her hips. She did not like this human boy. He seemed arrogant to her. "No you didn't! I would have been fine. Who even are you?"

The forest boy seemed taken aback by her hostility but kept his friendly tone.

"My name is Grendel," He stated proudly, holding out his hand. Snowfur remembered that this was a form of friendly behavior. She took his hand and shook it.

"Snowfur," She replied. Grendel's eyes seemed to brighten more and he leaned in and sniffed her. Snowfur recoiled back. She had never been smelled by another person before. Was this how human boys acted normally? If so, she did not like it.

The boy smiled. "You smell like snow. That's nice. Want to sniff me?"

Snowfur stared at him, clearly uncomfortable with the proposition but luckily she did not have to answer.

Grendel seemed to finally notice Stub and gasped in delight. The hyena wagged his tail and cackled at the boy.

"Why what a weird looking wolf! Hello brother! Can I sniff you?"\

Now the boy knelt down and got down on all fours. Snowfur backed away as she watched the boy and Stub sniff each other. She was still trying to debate whether or not this was normal behavior for a human boy. She had no previous experience with humans or any other race the same age as her so she just had to assume this was normal.

So when Grendel stood back up, Snowfur leaned in and sniffed his hair. He smelled like smoke and the dead leaves around them. Grendel seemed very happy that she had smelled his hair and proceeded to continue their conversation.

"Why are you trying to eat poisonous berries, Snowfur?" He asked.

Snowfur wanted to be angry for that reminder of her naivete but she ignored it. "I am hungry. Do you have any food?"

Grendel shook his head.

"No, no food. But there is plenty of chestnuts and mushrooms to find. Would you like some of that?

Snowfur did not know what a chestnut was but mushrooms were familiar to her, poisonous and edible. She nodded eagerly. Grendel instantly bounded off into the forest, calling back to her.

"Follow me!"

The girl and Stub followed the weird forest boy. He stopped in a clearing, where pale mushrooms grew on a fallen log. He pointed at them happily.

"These are edible. I'll gather up the chestnuts while you pick those."

Snowfur knelt down and started pulling the pale mushrooms off the rotten wood. Grendel started picking up round brown things off the forest floor. He placed them in a small pile and started collecting sticks. Snowfur picked up one of these so called "nuts" and almost bit into before Grendel saw her and snatched it out of her hand.

"You can't eat them raw!" He snapped worriedly.

Snowfur sighed. "Why not? I'm hungry!"

Grendel started to put the wood sticks into a pile and rubbed some of the sticks together. "They need to be roasted! Or you could get sick. You are kind of useless aren't you?"

Anger boiled up within Snowfur. First the boy had scared her, then implied he had saved her life, and then had sniffed her! Now he was calling her useless. She highly disliked this weird forest boy. Grendel seemed to not notice her growing dislike. Somehow a fire sparked up and he started to roast the chestnuts and mushrooms over the tiny fire and handed some to Snowfur on a leaf.

"Here, eat them while they are still warm."

Snowfur started eating the chestnuts, and found them tasty. Even Stub liked them. The mushrooms were not the worst the girl had eaten, but she had definitely eaten better things. Grendel roasted his own food and happily ate them.

"My mother is gonna be so happy I found a friend," He commented cheerfully.

The girl frowned. "You have a mother?"

Grendel nodded. "She's really pretty! Fur the color of night and teeth sharp as knives! You will like her!"

Snowfur had no inclination to meet a woman with fur and sharp teeth. She definitely did not want to spend anymore time with the boy. He had fed her but she still didn't like him. She shook her head. "No, I can't meet your mother. I have to go soon."

The boy frowned and looked up a the sky. It was not dark yet but the sky was slowing turning red as the sun set.

"But you can't wander these woods alone at night."

The girl had no fears of the dark unlike the forest boy.

Grendel suddenly looked around the forest as if he could hear something. "Oh no. The Hunter is hunting early? We have to go! Come with me, please!" The boy pleaded, fear apparent in his green eyes.

"You are scared of some silly hunter? I'm not!" Snowfur sneered. What kind of threat was a hunter? Hunters hunted and tamed animals. Snowfur was not an animal. Stub was but so long as he stayed close to her, this so called hunter wouldn't hurt him. Why would he?

The boy looked like he wanted to retort but an unearthly howl broke through the silence of the forest. Grendel immediately jumped to his feet.

"I'm so sorry but face the Hunter on your own. I'm not suicidal," The boy snapped and he fled into the forest, disappearing almost immediately.

He had left a large pile of chestnuts uncooked and Snowfur was still hungry so she started to roast the rest of them over the dying fire. Stub seemed unnerved by the howl and was whimpering while pacing behind Snowfur.

________  
"I may have been a little rash but that doesn't mean you have to keep looking at me with hostility."

Arthas picked up his mug and drank the ale. He sat at the darkest corner of Falconhurst's only inn, ignoring all the hateful looks from the locals. Next to the man, Rot glowered judgingly at him. The dog had wholely disapproved of Arthas's parenting methods. Arthas agreed with the mutt's assessment, to his own surprise. His outburst toward Sapphire had been childish and impulsive. Instead of chasing after her like he should have though, Arthas instead sulked in the dingy tavern. Every mortal in the building gave him dark glares. One had even spat at him as he passed. The bartender had seemed reluctant to server him but Arthas had set down a single gold coin and asked for an ale. Gold was more than enough to encourage the bartender to keep Arthas happy.

He took another swig of the ale and heard Rot growl at him. At first the man ignored the mutt but that did not stop Rot. The dog crawled into Arthas's lap and dug his tiny claws into the man's thigh.

Arthas sighed. "I'll look for her in the morning. She'll be curled up under a tree ten feet from the forest edge! There's no way she got too far. Besides, she's got that furball to protect her from such dangers like rabbits and dead leaves."

Rot curled up his lip and snarled. Arthas had enough of the dog's attitude and picked him up by the scruff of his neck.

"I will find her. Tomorrow!" He hissed angrily. Arthas then dropped the dog onto the floor and proceeded to drink more ale. While alcohol no longer affected him as it would have in life, the action of drinking provided some comfort to him. He did not waste another thought on Sapphire until he made his way to the room he rented in the inn. As he laid down on the course sheets of the bed, Arthas thought about how cold Sapphire would be in the forest. He could imagine her shivering under a tree, clutching at Stub. She might even be crying. Tears streaking down her face.

Guilt wracked his mind as he tried to get to sleep. Rot hopped up to the single crude window of the room and stared out at the forest, occasionally letting a whine leave his mouth. Slowly the sun started to set, turning the sky red. Finally Arthas turned his back to Rot and the window and tried to justify his actions. She would be fine. The girl had been in colder weather for her entire life. One lonely night in the woods would teach her a lesson.


	12. Chapter 12

Darkness seemed a silly thing to be afraid of in Snowfur's opinion. Lack of light did not hurt anyone. She supposed it was the stuff that hid in the darkness that was worth being afraid over. At night the forest started to come to life. Owls hooted in the dark. Little bats fluttered overhead the clearing. The howls grew louder and steadily grew closer, causing the girl to feel uneasy. Snowfur began to believe the weird Grendel was justified in his quick departure.

Unfortunately, Snowfur could not hide anywhere. The clearing only had a few small rocks and a half rotten tree trunk. Stub circled the fire nervously, occasionally whining. His ears flicked nervously. He kept glancing between Snowfur and the darkness in front of him.

A growl rumbled from the darkness. Snowfur jumped to her feet and scrambled to get her bow out. She snatched an arrow and nocked it like Volugg had taught her. She was no marksman but she hoped she could defend herself.

A creature came into view of the dying fire light. An antlered skull with green glowing eyes greeted her. Snowfur watched as the rest of the body came into view and almost felt like she was back home in Icecrown Citadel. The creature was an odd amalgamation of wood, meat, and bones. It appeared like some sore of doglike monster. The canine monster opened its jaw. A rotted tongue dropped out from its jaw. Black liquid dripped out the mouth. The familiar stench of rot washed over Snowfur.

Stub immediately snarled at the dead creature, lips curling back up to expose his teeth. The grey white fur on his hunched back stood up. Without hesitation, the creature lunged at Stub. The two fought, each one snarling and biting at each other. Stub shrieked in pain as the creature scratched the hyena. Snowfur couldn't shoot the creature with it being in such close quarters. She remembered that she had small knife and went to get it but a growl stopped her.

Another creature jumped into the light. It was the same kind of doglike construction. It smacked Snowfur's bow out of her hands with one clawed paw and snarled at her.

Snowfur backed away, suddenly frightened. Stub noticed the second monster and tried to shake off the first to help Snowfur. Unfortunately, the first creature took advantage of Stub's distraction and bit him in the neck, ripping into his flesh.

Before Snowfur could do anything, the second creature jumped onto the girl. She fell to the ground and suddenly saw nothing but teeth. The jaws of the creature clasped around her neck. Teeth pressed down into her fragile fresh and she expected to die, but it did not bite down.

The sound of hooves thundered into the clearing. Snowfur tried to see what was approaching but the creature dug claws into the girl's stomach. It aslo tightened its grip on her throat.

A sharp whistle from above caused the creature to finally let go of her. Snowfur finally turned her head just in time to see heavy leather boots stop just in front of her, blocking out half of her vision.

"Ah. A female? Never caught one of you before." The voice was deep but not as deep as Snowfur's father or Volugg.

Snowfur tried to sit up, but the creature did not step off of her. The girl looked up and saw the legs, torso, arms, and finally the head of her...rescuer? Captor? Like the dog creatures, the face of the man was a antlered skull.

"Who are you?" Snowfur demanded.

The humanoid creature bent down and eyed Snowfur up and down.

"My prey call me the Huntsman. Are you prey?"

Snowfur shook her head aggressively. The Huntsman tilted his head, then whistled again. The monster backed off Snowfur's body. Snowfur sat up and was going to stand up before she noticed the Huntsman outstretching one gloved hand. She decided to take it. The Huntsman helped her to her feet. Stub was gone. Snowfur thought he might have been killed but there was no body. The other creature was gone as well. Before she could wonder where the hyena went, the Huntsman caught her attention.

With an overdramatic flourish, the Hunstman grabbed his skull and whipped it off. The Huntsman was no undead creature but a normal, living man. His eyes were dark blue like hers and his thick beard was coal black. The man's lips curled up and he gave the girl a toothy smile.

"If you are not prey, then you may call me Adalger. What's a tiny little thing like you wandering about the Crimson Forest?"

Snowfur looked around the forest, confused. "Why is it called the Crimson Forest? There isn't any red."

Adalger laughed. "How...cute. Well, come now."

The man grabbed her by the arm rather roughly. Snowfur had expected the man to ride a horse, but the creature was like the doglike creatures. Nothing but a collection of bone, meat, and wood in the form of a horse or stag.

Snowfur yanked her arm away from the Huntsman. "Where are you taking me? Where is my friend Stub?"

The Huntsman looked around. "Oh, that mangy dog? That was your friend? He ran off after my wicker beasts attacked. The wounds were not fatal. I can track it down later for you, but my master has been waiting years for you. He shouldn't wait any more."

Snowfur felt a chill run down her spine. He was talking about the dark man that she dreamed about. The one that called himself Snowfur's true father. While still worried for Stub, Snowfur just hoped this Adalger would find him quickly.

She decided to follow Adalger. It did not seem like she had many other choices. He helped her up onto his mount and then mounted up himself.

"Hold on tight, girl." Snowfur obeyed, gripping the bony spines that protruded from the animal's back. The Huntsman did not even need to signal the beast before it started to run. Snowfur bit her lip hard and tightened her grip. The very few times she had ridden horses before had never been pleasant. Volugg had let her ride Mudfur once and it had been fun. But the wolf was old and did not go fast. This constructed thing went fast. It rushed between the thick growth of trees and shrubs, dodging every obstacle without hesitation. Every fallen log or dip in the ground, the creature leaped over with ease. There were no roads in the woods, or any sign of humans ever entering the forest for that matter. Snowfur wondered why that was. She wasn't far from that coastal town but the people there did not seem to enter the forest at all. The journey itself did not take long. Snowfur noticed briefly that they were going up hill and eventually crested the hills, where the trees started to thin.

They came to a large depression in the hills, curving downward where no trees grew. Except one. This tree was larger than any other tree Snowfur had seen before. The trunk itself was thick and wide. She suspected it was bigger than Volugg's hut by atleast three times. While the tree was large, it was not very tall, barely cresting over the hill and the trees that surrounding the area. People could walk on even the smallest branches easily. Not a single leaf grew from any of the branches however.

The tree gave off a very foreboding feeling, but the girl did not know why. Besides the tree, pools of water were scattered over the landscape and there was even a set of waterfalls to one side. Mists clung to everything. The girl had not seen such a place before and over all it looked innocent enough. The sense of unease remained however. Before Snowfur could barely take the scenery all in, the Huntsman set his horse toward the tree.

"Is...is this where your master lives?" Snowfur asked.

The Hunstman laughed. "In a way. See that opening there?"

Snowfur saw that the tree had a sort of doorway made out of carved stone. She nodded.

"That's the entrance to Thros. Do you know what that is?"

She had never heard of Thros before, but something about that name unnerved her. Suddenly Snowfur felt scared. Everything about the tree seemed off. She did not want to go into that tree and was not about to be silent about it.

"No. And it doesn't sound nice at all! I'd like to leave," She stuttered, and tried to get off the horse. Adalger grabbed her arm and twisted it. The girl yelped in pain.

All friendliness vanished from the Huntsman voice. "Leave? Oh no, you are not going anywhere! I suggest you do what you are told or my wicker beasts will be feasting on you tonight!"

Snowfur struggled. "Let me go!"

Surprisingly, the Huntsman did but only because he was dismounting. He held out his hand.

"Now...are we going to be a good little girl? Or am I going to have to hurt you again? I prefer breaking fingers. Which ones are your favorites?" He said all of this with a sadistic smile.

Snowfur cowered on the back of the horse, unsure of what to do. Stub was no where to be found. Volugg was off to do shaman stuff. The only person in the world who could have probably saved her was back in Falconhurst and had no intentions of ever trying to save her again.

The girl meekly took the Huntsman's hand and dismounted the horse. Adalger kept a firm grip on her and led her to the giant tree.

She thought briefly of biting him and escaping, but there was no where to run. He knew these woods and could chase her down without even trying. She was trapped.

________  
Arthas groaned as he woke, feeling tiny claws scratching at his face. At first all he did was sleepily brush the annoyance out of the way. But the irritating dog was persistent and dug at the human's face.

"What?" Arthas snarled, opening his eyes. Rot sat directly in front of his face. Beady little black eyes stared back at Arthas's glowing blue ones. Then, the dog barked.

"She can wait five more minutes."

Rot growled and dug at Arthas's face. Angered, the deathknight abruptly sat up which caused the dog to fall over backwards.

"I used to be the Lich King! You obeyed me. Not the other way around!" Arthas bellowed at the diminutive figure. Rot merely whined pitifully while struggling to turn himself back over.

The man sighed and picked up Rot, setting him down properly on the floor. The dog wagged its tail gratefully.

"Fine. I'm up. How...how should I apologize to her?"

Rot tilted his head in confusion and did not answer. He merely walked over to Arthas's things. The dog stuck his little head into the bag and rummaged about. While the dog did that, Arthas put on his pathetic leather armor, wishing for even steel plate.

The dog pulled out what looked like a mass of flesh, but when Arthas took it from the dog he saw that it was a doll. An ugly, heavily stitched thing with stuffing poking out of various holes. It closely resembled an abomination, one of the many horrors unleashed by the Scourge. Arthas looked at the doll, and then at Rot.

"Is this Sapphire's? Have you carried this all the way from Northrend?"

Rot barked and started hopping about the room. He had found it in Sapphire's room and stuffed it in Arthas's pack when the man was not looking. Sapphire apparently cared a lot about the doll. As happy as she was to see Rot, she would also be happy to be reunited with the inanimate toy.

Arthas took the doll and carefully tied it to his belt so it would be in easy reach. Sapphire might try to run again so he wanted to show it to her quickly. Catching her off guard was the only way he would be able to get an apology heard. Apologies were not his strong suit. He had no idea what to say but perhaps it would come to him while searching for her. He thought about taking all of his stuff but decided against it. All he took was his pitiful steel sword, a dagger, and the extra cloak he had found. Sapphire would no doubt be cold.

"Come on. Let's go find her."


	13. Chapter 13

Snowfur was dragged into the giant tree by the Huntsman and forced her down underneath the thick roots. Bones littered the steps. Heavily used candles lined the earthen floor. There was a roughly hewn stone doorway down at the bottom, which is where the Huntsman led Snowfur to. He let go of her briefly and started scrawling runes into the dirt in front of the doorway.

Adalger turned to Snowfur and snapped his fingers.

"Give me your hand," He commanded. She could try to resist, but the man was three times her size at the very least. Snowfur timidly held out her hand. The Huntsman gripped her wrist and turned her hand palm up. Metal rasped as he pulled out a dagger. The girl instantly recoiled but he held on to her too tightly.

"Entrance to Thros often requires sacrifice."

He ran the dagger swiftly across her palm. Snowfur yelped in pain as blood gushed out of her palm. Instinctively she clenched her fingers tightly over the gash. The Huntsman snatched her wrist harshly and turned it over. Blood dripped off her hand onto the dirt symbols. The symbols sparked before glowing a blackish blue color.

The doorway started to shudder. It seemed like the entire underground room would collapse. The doorway exploded into a blindingly sheen of blue energy. Adalger let go of Snowfur and gave her a sadistic grin.

"Well? Can't stand leaving me, sweetheart? A second ago you couldn't wait to get away from me. I know, I know. I'm quite the charmer but I can not come with you. I need to find your...little furry friend."

His comments did not comfort her in the slightest. Snowfur knew he had no intention of returning Stub to her. He most likely wanted to finish Stub off. She wanted to try begging but Adalger shoved her backwards into the portal.

________  
Nothing could prepare Snowfur for the sensation of the portal. It felt like she was thrown into both freezing cold water and blazing fire. It only lasted for a second before Snowfur collapsed onto something hard, landing on both her hip and right arm.

She groaned. "Ow."

It took a few moments for her to recover from the experience.

As she took in her surroundings, surprise took her. Her dreams had become reality. The forest she laid in looked like the one she had been dreaming of occasionally. As she look all around, she realize she was in the clearing that Adalger had just brought her to. She stood in the doorway that was carved into the giant tree. But everything was obviously different. The trees that dominated the landscape were no longer pale brown or grey. They were dark black. Mists swirled around their branches and trunks.

Snowfur got to her feet slowly, wondering just what she was going to do. She wondered if she could even leave the forest now. She was not even positive she was alive anymore. Everything seemed wrong.

Just to make sure she truly was in the same place as her dream, Snowfur hesitantly went to touch one of the trees. Wet, black blood came away on her hand as she pulled her hand back. Definitely real. Disgusted, Snowfur wiped the blood onto her dress.

"Kalma."

Snowfur whipped around, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.

"Hello?" She said softly. She tried to remain fearless but it was difficult.

Cautiously, Snowfur entered the forest toward the voice. She started to climb a small hillock, hoping to see above the trees in order to get her bearings. No animals inhabited the creepy forest as far as she knew. There looked to be a bulbous misshapen tree clinging to the hillock. Snowfur saw that it was high so decided to climb it. She reached up toward a branch...only to be greeted by a face. The supposed tree bark separated to reveal dark blue eyes.

Snowfur recoiled in surprise and almost fell back down the hillside.

"My, my. You have grown so much since I last saw you."

The tree seemed to split in half as the tree man stood up. He was at least ten feet tall, if not taller. The reason Snowfur had mistaken him for a tree was because parts of his body was covered in bark. He was some kind of vrykul, Snowfur thought. He smiled unnaturally wide at Snowfur, revealing large sharp teeth. The girl did not like his smile and refused to return it. The man sensed her discomfort and knelt down.

"I know I might seem scary, but I'm harmless. How are you, little Kalma? Did Adalger treat you well?"

Snowfur found her voice as tears formed in her eyes. "No! He hurt my friend Stub, grabbed me roughly, and cut my hand!"

The large tree man gasped. "What? I'll have to speak to him! No one treats my dear granddaughter this way! Oh child, you have had a rough night."

He reached down to the girl and stroked her hair. Snowfur sniffled and smiled at him. This seemed to please the man.

"There, there my dear! I am Gorak Tul. You are Kalma my great great great granddaughter and you are perfectly safe here."

Snowfur shook here head in denial. She couldn't be related to this giant, half tree man. Deep inside though, she would love to be. She had never known any family besides her father.

"I can't be related to you. I'm a human."

Gorak Tul snorted and stood up straight to his full height. "No, no, no. You are not a filthy human. You are a Drust. A mighty breed of people! This land was ours before the disgusting humans took it from us and destroyed our people. The only way our people could survive was to...consort with the humans."

Then the Drust made a sound of disgust. "Only a few Drust children are born to humans every century. The Drust blood is more and more diluted every time. You are the first female Drust born in three hundred years! You are very special."

Snowfur blinked in surprise and immediately shook her head. "No I'm not. I'm me."

Gorak Tul smiled, again showing off his white teeth. Snowfur disliked how white they were. He reached down and patted the girl on her head. She tried not to flinch as his large hand touched her hair.

"But you are special. Whoever told you otherwise is wrong."

Snowfur bit her lip. She wasn't used to such compliments. The Drust seemed to sense her unease and leaned forward toward her.

"You must be starving! Would you like something to eat, my little sapling?"

She was indeed hungry. The food Grendel had provided barely staved off her hunger. She nodded, and winced when Gorak Tul laughed.

"Fantastic! Come, child!"

He lumbered off into the dark mists. Snowfur hesitated, but then trotted after him. Then she noticed dark things moving in the mists.

She ran to Gorak Tul in alarm. "Sir! There are things! Dark things!"

The Drust turned to her in response of her raised voice. Snowfur pointed to one of the dark things. Gorak Tul planted his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. Those are friends and family! They are merely shy. You will meet them eventually."

Snowfur did not like the sound of that and doubted the dark things were any sort of friendly. They reminded her of Adalger, who was not friendly at all.

Gorak Tul continued to lead the girl through the forest. As they walked, the forest started to change. The mist cleared. The trees stopped bleeding and smaller plants started to sprout near the bases of the trees. Leaves started growing on the trees. Grass covered the dark soil.

The clearing Gorak Tul led Snowfur to was similar to the one Grendel had brought her to. A giant roughly carved stone table stood in the middle of the clearing. There were no seats for Snowfur, but Gorak Tul seemed to realize the table was too large for the small child. He went over to a boulder and ripped it out from the earth.

"Forgive me. You are smaller than expected," Gorak Tul said. He dumped the boulder at the right side, near the head of the table. He then waved elegantly for her to sit down.

Snowfur came over and climbed up the boulder. Then she took in all the food that the table held.

An entire roasted carcass sat in the middle of the table. All around it was various kinds of vegetables. Some Snowfur could recognized. She had eaten turnips and cabbage before but there were round red turnip like things as well as rounded beans with black spots all over them. There were a lot of green leaf like things as well as the mushrooms that Grendel had fed Snowfur earlier. Berries of all kinds were neatly and delicately piled up in small pyramids. Gorak Tul thumped to the ground and crossed his legs. He grabbed a wooden bowl of bread and planted half a loaf in front of the girl.

"Go on. Enjoy the food!"

Snowfur did not need to be told twice. She grabbed everything she could get her hands on. She had never seen so much food in her life. Gorak Tul obliged her whenever she asked what something was. The green leaves were all sorts of different things. Plaintains, mustard, lamb's quarters, and dock. The tea he poured for her came from something called stinging nettles, but Snowfur didn't feel any sort of stinging. Parsnips and carrots were glazed with a generous amount of honey. Snowfur spread bilberry jam all over her bread and stuffed it into her mouth.

By the time Snowfur was finished, there was still an enormous amount of food. She wanted to eat more but there was just too much. She grew drowsy and let out a yawn.

"Well now that you are fed it is time for bed. You have had a rough day haven't you?" Gorak Tul asked. Snowfur nodded sleepily.

Gorak Tul looked to the tree line and nodded. Snowfur looked back toward where he was looking. A hooded figure stood there. Fear seized Snowfur but Gorak Tul comforted her.

"This is one of my many servants. She will escort you to a nice place to sleep."

The woman lifted her hood back and to all appearances looked like a normal human woman to Snowfur's eyes. She reached out her hand.

"I am named Lilith. What is your name sweetheart?"

Snowfur opened her mouth but Gorak Tul interrupted.

"Her name is Kalma. Take care of her, Sister Lilith."

Sister Lilith took Snowfur's arm gently. "Yes, Master. Come little Kalma."

Snowfur felt far more comfortable with Lilith than with Adalger and happily followed her. She tried to speak but Lilith ignored her. The woman led Snowfur through the forest to a crude house made out of large stones. A small trail of smoke rose wispily from a hole in the roof. Lilith opened the door and led her in. The one room hut was simple. A fire in one place with a rough bed with a straw mattress.

"Is this sufficient?" Lilith asked. Snowfur did not bother answering. She proceeded to collapse onto the straw mattress.


	14. Chapter 14

Arthas was an idiot. Why would he be so stupid to believe that the kid would be smart enough to stay close to town? He searched every nook and cranny along the tree line around town but Sapphire was no where to be found. Finally Rot caught her scent but Arthas doubted the dog's ability to track. The temptation to just forget about his daughter and continue on to Boralus without her. The feeling passed quickly only to replaced by overwhelming guilt. She was only lost due to his decisions. She could have stayed with Volugg if he had stayed dead.

Sapphire was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Letting her wander the woods and potentially die from wildlife, exposure, or lowlife mortals was not an option. He felt little guilt over the hundreds of thousands of innocents he had killed, directly or indirectly. But this one girl? If Sapphire were to die, Arthas could only accept it if he wielded the blade. She belonged to him.

So Arthas searched for her. Rot sniffed every single leaf and rock. He had never been to Kul Tiras before but from the descriptions he had heard, he never expected to find such in the island chain. The trees grew closely together, blocking out the sun with their leaves.

Rot sniffed a mushroom and opened his mouth to eat it. Arthas snapped his fingers.

"Don't eat that!"

The dog looked at Arthas, then back at the mushroom. Then back at Arthas. With one quick movement, Rot snatched the mushroom cap and chewed vigorously. Arthas scowled.

"You are not being helpful! Give me one reason not to crush your skull under my heel."

Rot barked an argument, then sniffed around one more time. He wagged his tail and ran off, barking excitedly. The man followed the dog reluctantly. About an hour later, He heard barklike cries and howls. Arthas moved forward quickly.

"Hold still, strange brother!" A voice cried out, exasperated.

There underneath a crooked tree, a young man was kneeling next to a very bloody Stub. He wore nothing but furs and had a handful of leaves that he was trying to put onto Stub's wounds. The boy looked up in alarm at Arthas's sudden approach. He fled on all fours over to the cover of a thorny bush.

"You reek of death! Who the hell are you?"

Arthas smirked. Atleast the kid was smart enough to fear him.

"My name is Andrew and I won't kill you if you can tell me how you came across this hyena," Arthas stated bluntly.

The boy stuck his head out from the bush. He nervously glanced at Stub. "I found him all bloody. I was trying to put some liferoot leaves on his wounds. Could you hold him still so I could do that?"

Arthas acquiesced and held down the struggling hyena while the boy applied the crushed leaves to the ragged wounds. Stub seemed calmer now that Rot and Arthas had shown up, but he was still clearly upset.

After the leaves were applied, Arthas let go of Stub. The hyena snorted at the dressed wounds and tried licking them, only to be disgusted by the taste. He then slumped exhausted to the ground. The boy gave Arthas a hesitant smile.

"Thanks! My name is Grendel. Why do you have a dead dog?"

Rot barked at this comment. Arthas waved in his direction.

"Oh that's just Rot. He is my daughter's pet. Same as this hyena."

Grendel's eyes widened. Then he stood up.

"Well, then. I have to go! Bye."

The boy tried to run off, but Arthas knew that look. He knew something. Having zero tolerance for games, Arthas drew up some frost magic and froze the ground beneath the boy's feet. As expected, the boy slipped and fell on the patch of ice. Arthas stomped over to him and grabbed the kid by one arm.

"Where is Sapphire?" Arthas shouted.

Grendel winced and cowered before the man. "The Huntsman probably took her! The strange hyena thing was attacked by wicker beasts! I warned her but she didn't listen to me."

Arthas let go of Grendel, who dropped back down to the ground. He didn't give the boy another chance to run though.

"Who is this Huntsman? What the hell is a wicker beast?"

Grendel stared at him in shock. "Oh, you're as stupid as she is. The Huntsman is an evil man who rides on a stag and leads a pack of horrid monsters. He hunts down and kills mortals who intrude the Crimson Forest at night. Your daughter is dead."

The word "dead" seemed to hit Arthas right in the empty space where his heart used to be. She could not be dead after he finally found her. This was his fault. He should have followed after her. He shouldn't have told her to run off in the first place. She was just a child but Arthas had been the immature monster that had lost his temper.

Arthas leaned against a nearby tree, unable to stand.

"Then I have nothing left."

Grendel watched him in fascination. "What do you mean?"

He did not see any reason to lie to the forest boy. "I am a genocidal monster that could kill you just now and feel no guilt over it. I commanded armies of the dead and wished to destroy all life on Azeroth."

Immediately Grendel fled and hid behind a tree.

"But I was defeated and I have nothing left except a half rotten dog and my daughter. I never gave a damn about her before now but I was trying to do better. Clearly I couldn't even keep a damn child alive."

Grendel looked out from behind the tree and gave Arthas a look of pity, which enraged the man.

"I'm sorry. Maybe...she hid somewhere? I could help you I guess. So long as you don't hurt me."

Arthas wondered who was more naïve, this Grendel or his own daughter.

Stub managed to get to his feet, and started to limp off in a western direction. Grendel tried to grab the hyena and stop him. The hyena snapped his teeth at the youth's fingers.

Arthas shook his head. "Let him go. Maybe he can show us where Sapphire was last."

______  
Snowfur grabbed at the vibrant butterfly but it fluttered out of her reach. She tried hopping to catch it to no avail. For the past hour, she had been trying to capture the annoying critter. After waking up, she had enjoyed an extensive breakfast alone. She had never eaten so much in her life as she had since she entered Thros. Even Volugg did not feed her as well, but she would have preferred his company to the tree man or his boring servants. Gorak Tul had not shown up but Sister Lilith had told her he would be visiting soon. So the girl wandered the forests until she came upon the butterfly. It stood out in the misty forest which immediately caught her attention.

Despite her concerns over Stub and Adalger, Snowfur pounced at the butterfly. It had flown from her grasp which led to an hour long pursuit.

In the clearing, Snowfur finally grew exhausted. The butterfly landed on a nearby tree. The girl collapsed in the soft sweet smelling grass and rolled around it in.

"Having fun?"

Snowfur jumped into a sitting position. There, at the clearing Adalger stood grimly. His arms folded over his chest. She couldn't see his expression under the deer skull but she could tell he was not happy. She curled up defensively.

"Yes. I am...Did you find Stub?" She demanded.

The man groaned and held a arm out toward the mists. He flicked his head.

Stub came rushing out of the mists and flung himself into the sweet grass. Snowfur squealed. She ran over to the hyena and wrapped her arm around the hyena. He reeked of dead leaves and rot but she didn't care. The hyena licked her profusely, cackling between each lick. There was no wounds visible on him.

"Happy now?" Adalger snarled.

Snowfur looked up at the man and smiled. "Yes, thank you so much! I was so worried for him. Did you apologize?"

The man tilted his head. "Apologize?"

The girl stopped hugging the hyena and folded her arms as an imitation of the Huntsman.

"Apologize to Stub."

The Huntsman growled. "Fine. Sorry, Stub."

The hyena didn't seem to notice, more intent on licking Snowfur. She decided that that was the only apology she would get out of the man. Snowfur hopped to her feet and ran off.

"Come on Stub! Let's go find that butterfly!"


	15. Chapter 15

Grendel became more anxious the deeper they delved into the forest. Arthas doubted that such a flighty youth was a reliable source of information but he was the only person he had seen in the forest. Which meant that the boy was the only one to help him. The boy's anxiety fueled Arthas's awareness of his surroundings. The forest closed in around them, giving the air a thick, claustrophobic feeling.

"We shouldn't be here," Grendel whispered.

Stub crested over a moss-riddled hill. Arthas easily crested over it but the boy had to climb on all fours to get over the hill. An ugly dead tree dominated the depression in the earth. It looked like a large skeleton reaching up to the sky. It was the least impressive tree Arthas had ever seen.

Grendel shrieked. "Not Gol Inath! No, no, no! We can't be here!"

Arthas glanced down at the youth. "I see. I guess this place is bad?"

Grendel nodded furiously.

"Yes...We can't be here. The Huntsman comes out of that tree and take people like me."

it sounded like a tall tale that peasants told their children to behave. Arthas wanted to not believe the kid but Stub was already descending down the hill toward the tree. Grendel whimpered.

"I didn't know Snowfur was one of me! She seemed like a normal stupid human," Grendel chirruped.

Arthas narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me? Are you telling me you aren't a human?"

As a deathknight, Arthas could sense different kinds of magic. He felt no sort of illusion towards the young man, so unless he was more skilled than his appearance presented, or he was what he looked like.

Grendel sighed. "Well...I am part human. I am a Drust, or Drustling depending on who you ask."

Arthas knew a lot of different kinds of humanoids, from simple murlocs to northern tuskarr, but he had never heard of any people called Drust. Grendel, seeing Arthas's confusion, went on to explain more.

"Drusts lived on Kul Tiras before humans did. When the humans killed most of them off, some of them joined the human society. So, they had children with the humans. Did your daughter have any Kul Tiran blood in her?"

Arthas nodded gravely, though he tried to push out the thought of the Kul Tiran that he was thinking of. Grendel pointed to the ugly twisted tree. "Dead Drusts live on in the Blighted Lands and the entrance is in that tree. The Huntsman takes Drustlings into Thros. My mother never told me why they take children but they never come back out. Your daughter must be in Thros."

Arthas smirked. He knew how to deal with the dead. He could handle anything in this so called Blighted Lands.

"How do I enter?" He asked the boy. Grendel's eyes widened in horror.

"You can't! Even if you could, you would be insane to try. I'm sorry but she's gone for good! Death would have been preferable."

At this, Arthas turned to look down at the boy with the darkest look he could manage. Grendel cowered in terror.

"How do you enter Thros?" He demanded. Grendel winced at the man's tone.

"I...You need to be a Drust. I could open the way but I'm not going into Thros. No way!"

Arthas nodded. He had not expected the cowardly child to help him in that way. Honestly, he was surprised the boy had stayed to help for as long as he had. In response, Grendel quickly started to head toward the tree, muttering under his breath.

"Mother is gonna kill me, if Father doesn't."

"So, are your parents Drusts too I assume?" Arthas said as they approached the tree. Mist curled around them as they walked. Dead tree limbs littered the ground.

Grendel shook his head. "No, my parents are wolves."

This caused Arthas to stop briefly. "Wolves?"

The boy nodded, then smiled weakly. "Yes! In fact, my father is a powerful wolf! Protector of the entire region of Drustvar. His name is Greenstalker! He warned me to never go close to Gol Inath...or stay out after dark. He protects Drustlings like me."

Arthas smirked. "And yet, if my daughter is a Drustling as you say, this wolf of yours did not protect her."

Grendel's mouth dropped open. He tried to speak, but after a few stutters, went silent. He hung his head shamefully.

"He would have...If I had told him about her. I'm so sorry! I didn't know what she was and I was so scared of the Hunstman. Please don't kill me!"

The boy collapsed to the ground and started to cry. Normally, Arthas would not have been so soft, but he needed the boy to help him. He knelt down and put a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"It's alright, kid. Just help me now and I won't crush your skull with my bare hands." This was no idle threat. If Grendel kept sobbing, he would just kill the boy and find another way to enter this place.

Grendel sniffled. "O...okay. But I'll do even better. I'll go tell my dad as soon as I help you. Will that make things better?"

Arthas gritted his teeth. "Sure, whatever. Now get up and stop whining."

They entered the doorway in the tree's trunk. Arthas did not expect stairs descending into the earth, with hard stone walls. Grendel hesitated before the darkness but Arthas fixed that easily. He summoned a small cold flame in one hand, illuminating the stairs. Grendel whimpered and followed.

Skulls and spent candles lined the stairs. Arthas had to step over puddles of used wax. At the bottom, there was an empty doorway of stone. Runes lined the doorway's arches. More skulls and candles crowded the platform of which the door stood.

"What now, forest child?" Arthas asked, turning to Grendel. The boy inhaled deeply, and walked over to the door. He picked up a handful of ash colored earth from the ground and started to draw a complex symbol with harsh angles. He put candles at five points in the symbol and lit them with a snap of his fingers.

"Do you have a knife?" Grendel asked.

Arthas unsheathed the simple knife he had scavenged off a corpse when he left Northrend. He flipped it to hand it over handle first to the boy. Grendel took it and cut his palm, wincing in pain.

Blood dripped off his hand and fell onto the symbol he had drawn. Black and blue magic sizzled upwards and the entire symbol started to glow. The candle lights flickered and turned from a normal color of fire to pure black.

The runes on the door started to glow as a well and a mass of darkness pooled within the doorway. Stub growled angrily at the doorway, fur standing up on the back of his hunched back.

"You can now enter Thros, but you should know that once someone enters they never leave," Grendel warned.

Arthas dismissed his warning. "Then I will be the first to leave. With my daughter. Anything else?"

The boy scowled. "Yes. I hope you have no fears, doubts or painful memories."

_______  
Grendel watched Arthas and the strange Stub enter the doorway, fear clutching at his breast. Not only had he been stupid enough to follow the man and strange dog to Gol Inath, but he had actually entered the tree and helped open Thros! Grendel figured he had lost his mind. He was no hero and did not like the feelings he was having. Guilt over leaving the girl alone in the forest, as well as shame for not even telling his parents about it. His father would have been able to save the girl easily. Grendel hated himself, but was trying to make up for his cowardice.

As soon as the man disappeared, Grendel sprinted up the stairs of Gol Inath and burst out of the tree.

Fur sprouted all over his body. The flesh of his face hardened into bone. Antlers grew out of the top of the skull. Claws ripped out of his fingernails. He started on two feet but ended on all fours. Instead of a normal looking boy, a skull faced creature ran through the forest. Grendel ran as fast as he could, leaping over roots and dodging thorny bushes.

"Mother!" He howled.

A few seconds later, a howl answered him. He did not stop running until he practically ran headfirst into his mother. He yipped and skidded through the leafy groundcover.

"Grendel! What are you doing, sweet pup?" The female wolf asked, rubbing her skull against his worriedly.

"I...I did something wrong, Mother. I met a girl last night and she was a Drust! But I didn't tell you about her and I should have. Now..."

The boy returned to his normal body and started to sob uncontrollably. Immediately his mother pawed at him and licked his tears away. Through wracking sobs, Grendel managed to explain the situation. His mother grew angrier after each sentence, but it was not directed at him.

"That vile monster! I'll rip out his intestines and shove them down his throat! I will-" Grendel's mother barraged the boy with more threats and graphic depictions of her rage. Grendel sniffled.

"I'm so sorry, Mother."

The wolf stopped her tangent briefly and smothered the boy. He wrapped his arms around her furry neck.

Disturbed by all the commotion, more wolves came out of the forest. All of them looked similar to Grendel and his mother, with skulls and antlers. They came in all shades and sizes, even tiny pups that Grendel could carry in one hand. A dark mass stood farther from the rest of the pack. It stayed in the shadows and was almost too large to fit underneath the trees.

"What is wrong, child of the forest?"

Grendel stood up, trying to keep his head up but did not look into the larger creature's eyes.

"I made a mistake. A huge mistake! Will you try and fix this for me, Father?"

"Pups normally right their own wrongs lest they become weak. It seems like this time however, your mistake could be devastating to us all."

_____  
Snowfur held up branch and showed it to Stub.

"Go fetch, Stub!" She squealed and flung it as far as she could. It flew off past all of the flowers in the meadow and landed somewhere in the forested area. Snowfur loved the flowers so much she did not feel like going back into the disturbing forest. But, things were starting to become uneasy even in the meadow. Stub did not even watch the branch fly off. He merely stood there watching Snowfur, his eyes empty and lifeless.

Snowfur frowned. "Are you okay, Stubby? You seem so different."

Since Snowfur showed no signs of walking away, Stub laid down in the flowers. He sniffed one of the flowers and yawned. Snowfur sighed and decided to do something else. So she collapsed into some flowers and snatched a bright yellow one. She started to pick off the petals of the flower. Once, there were no more petals, Snowfur dropped the flower and grabbed another. Soon a pile of petals grew next to her.

"Kalma! Dear one, where have you gone?"

Snowfur sat up. Gorak Tul stood in the meadow. He looked around and finally saw her. He bared his teeth into a smile.

"Dear one! There you are. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Snowfur nodded. She picked up the flower petals. "Look, what I did!"

Gorak Tul strode over to her on his giant legs and looked at the petals.

"Ah, fantastic. You know, in my youth I would often make crowns out of flowers."

Snowfur's eyes brightened. "Really? Can you show me?"

Gorak Tul knelt down next to her, crushing a swathe of flowers underneath him. He started plucking some blue ones and delicately tied each of them together. Snowfur watched, fascinated. After he finished, he placed the crown on her head, causing the girl to giggle.

"Now make one for me, sweetling."

Snowfur attempted a crown, but it was hard. After a few failed attempts, Gorak Tul took her hands and showed her how to tie the flower stems properly without crushing them.

"There, like this. Flowers are fragile creatures, like you. It doesn't take much to...crush one."

The girl's nose wrinkled up as she tried to concentrate. Since Gorak Tul was so large, it would take a lot of flowers to make a crown for him. Halfway through the crown's construction, Lilith came running towards them.

"Master! There is a situation!" She gasped.

Gorak Tul quickly stood up. "I must see to this, little one. Have no worries. Lilith, why don't you feed the child while I am gone?"

The woman nodded and held her hand out to Snowfur. She smiled down at the youth with sparkling teeth.

"Come, girl. I am sure you are starving! We mustn't let you waste away. You are too thin as it is."

Snowfur shook her head and didn't take the woman's hand. "Oh, I'm actually not hungry. Besides, I used to be thinner than this. My friend Volugg-"

Lilith gave the girl a piercing look and without regard to Snowfur's wants, took the girls hand by force.

"Nonsense, you are nothing but bone. We need to fatten you up more. All good children eat when told."

Snowfur was taken aback. Lilith wasn't as nice as Volugg, but she had not been so brusque with her previously. Rather than argue however, Snowfur agreed to follow the woman.


	16. Chapter 16

Corpses never bothered Arthas. Neither did the suffering of others because he was often the perpetrator of such acts. Nothing sounded better than agonized screams for mercy. Thros would have been a place he enjoyed in other circumstances.

Bones crunched underneath Stub's and Rot's feet as they trotted recklessly into the forest. Despite the macabre appearance, Thros seemed to mirror the forest that Arthas had just left. Every tree stood in the same place, but with key differences. Blood dripped off of each branch. Bones of all kinds hung from the trees arranged in strange symbols, tied together with sinew.

Screams rang out throughout the forest. A lingering thought appeared in the back of Arthas's mind that one of the individuals screaming could be Sapphire, but he pushed it back as he followed the two animals. Rot and Stub sniffed the dead ashy earth, searching for a scent. To Arthas's simpler sense of smell, there wasn't any scent. Even when he brushed his fingers against a bloody tree, there was no metallic odor to the oozing liquid.

Deeper into the forest, they discovered the source of the screams. Humans were hanging in trees or ensnared by roots. Every single one of them seemed to be in some kind of agony, despite there being no visible wounds. Several cried out for mercy. None of them seemed to acknowledge either Stub's or Arthas's presence.

He started to approach one of the trapped individuals but Stub turned and growled at him. Arthas could see the hyena was trembling. Before Arthas could do anything, he heard someone call out.

"Arthas!"

The man whipped his head toward the direction. Something about the voice seemed familiar.

"Who is that?" He demanded forcefully.

"Please, Arthas...Help me," They sounded weak and frightened.

Before Stub could stop him, Arthas went toward the voice. He knew this person somehow. A long forgotten memory. How they might have ended up in such a place, he didn't know but he was determined to figure out who they were. Rot barked as he ran to catch up to Arthas. He was telling Arthas to not go to it. Something was terribly wrong.

Arthas came upon a primitive wooden cage within something curled up inside.

"Sapphire, is that you?"

The creature moved. "Sweetheart...Don't you recognize your own mother?"

It stood up and Arthas fell backward. His mother stood there in a ruined and bloody dress. Oozing pustules covered every inch of her body. Her beautiful green eyes that had always looked upon Arthas with love were now gone, replaced by deep bloody pits. Once golden like his own, her beautiful mane of hair was nothing but a few strands of oily faded strings. Her jaw was slack and her unnaturally long tongue dangled below her face. Black liquid dripped from her mouth.

"You did this to me!" She screamed.

"No, no I never killed you. You disappeared after Lordaeron fell-"

"I loved you, but you murdered me. Now, I will murder you!"

Stub leapt toward Arthas's mother and sank his teeth into her throat. She shrieked like a banshee and fought the hyena but Stub was too strong. Then the illusion fell. This was not Arthas's mother. It was some magical construct consisting of bone, wood and stringy muscle tissue.

For years, Arthas had never felt such emotion. As a deathknight and Lich King, he rarely felt anything. Now, as Stub tore apart the weird construct, Arthas was shaking. He never saw his mother in Lordaeron. She had fled and hidden somewhere like his sister had, and Arthas had never found either one of them. Even as a deathknight, he had not been too determined to find them. Better to ignore his emotions and his past all together. Just as he had been relieved that Jaina had fled when he besieged Dalaran, he had been relieved to never find his mother. It was better off that way.

Rot came over and placed one paw on Arthas's boot. He whined and Arthas leaned down to pick up the dog.

"I'm fine. This place clearly plays tricks on people's minds. I'm stronger than any of those trapped fools we saw," He hissed. He had merely been taken by surprise. Nothing would sway him now that he saw through the simple ruse.

The screams of the mortals continued in the distance, but some of them changed. Now Arthas recognized some of them. Everyone he had previously cared about screamed in agony and fear. Muradin Bronzebeard, his old dwarven friend who had abandoned. Uther, his old mentor that he had brutally cut down. His mother and sister called out for him to help him. Jaina...Jaina screamed.

He ignored them all. Most of the people he used to care about were dead. Those that were not...He did not care about anymore. That is what he told himself.

Then there was the visions. He saw his childhood friend, Jarim Balnir, lying dead in a pool of his own blood. He saw Varian Wyrnn, another dear friend of his, fighting off wolves but failing and being torn apart by them. Such graphic visions did not bother him. He had seen, and perpetuated much worse violence.

"Sapphire!" Arthas felt no compulsion to be quiet. There was nothing that he could not handle. Stub cackled nervously, looking to left and right.

"Arthas," A soft voice appeared behind him. Arthas stopped. He immediately recognized it and gripped his sword tightly.

"Go away creature. You are not her."

"Arthas, please forgive me," Jaina whispered. Arthas turned his head and saw her. He gritted his teeth.

She stood next to one of the twisted trees. The last time he had seen her was when she had invaded his citadel and attacked him. The attack failed so Jaina was forced to flee.

This Jaina looked just like her. No mutilations, no rotting body parts. Nothing marred her beautiful body. Stub growled but did not attack her.

"You aren't her," Arthas stated simply. Jaina gave him a confused look.

"It is me, Arthas! I knew you survived your defeat. I came to ask for forgiveness," She stated enthuisatically and started to approach him. Arthas whipped out his sword and pointed it at her.

"Not one step closer. Tell me something only Jaina might know," He snarled.

Jaina smiled, her teeth shining brightly in the dark forest. Then she lunged at her. Her dress tore violently as bat wings sprouted from her back. Hooves replaced her feet and horns burst from her forehead. Arthas swung the sword at it but the dreadlord slashed at it with claws.

"Thought you killed me, boy? You were wrong."

Arthas roared and decapitated Mal'Ganis. The dreadlord disappeared and beheaded body of another construct fell to the earth. The head landed some distance away with a soft thud.

"Is that all you have?" Arthas held up his sword and stood in a challenging stance. Rot tried to howl intimidatingly but it came off as pathetic. Stub lifted his ears in alarm and looked into the mist. A small figure was approaching now.

Sapphire emerged out of the mist and bared fangs at him. "No. There is a lot more."

_________  
Snowfur nibbled a small mushroom, not feeling that hungry. The woman, Lilith, was in no mood to games. She shoved various kinds of food upon the girl, but Snowfur refused most of it. Stub laid next to the girl, eating whatever she snuck under the table.

Gorak Tul had not yet returned, and Snowfur felt bereft. She did not like the human woman and missed her large grandfather. He had made her a flower crown, which still sat upon her brow. Snowfur would rather be playing with him rather than tolerating Lilith.

"Would you like some candied rose petals?" Lilith asked, trying to be sweet. Snowfur shook her head and the woman made an irritated noise.

"Good girls eat whatever is given to them, you know. Aren't you a good girl?"

Snowfur shook her head. "No, I'm bad."

It was meant as a joke and the girl smiled to emphasize the point. But the woman was in no mood for that.

"Eat," She commanded. The girl scowled and ate a handful of petals.

Howls echoed in the woods, interrupting the meal. Snowfur looked up in alarm.

"What's wrong?"

The woman merely waved dismissively. "Nothing, child. I'm sure Adalger is just messing around. Hunting something perhaps."

Snowfur was curious but willing to let it go when the woman held out some fruit. The girl adored fruit. She reached out for a slice of some orange pink fruit when a voice whispered to her.

_Do not eat it. ___

____

____

The girl froze as she was about to put the fruit into her mouth. A chill went down her spine.

_Do not eat anything else, child. ___

____

____

Snowfur placed the fruit slice on the stone table. "Uh, I'm tired actually. Can I go take a nap, please?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "If you must. Do you need me to escort you?"

Snowfur shook her head and yawned. "No, I'm okay. I know where to go. Thank you for the food though!"

The girl headed in the direction that she knew the small hut was. She entered the hut quickly but it was brief. She only went to the hut in order to retrieve her scant belongings. She donned both her hat and bow that Volugg had gifted her. She only had half a dozen arrows so she hoped she wouldn't have to use them. Snowfur turned to head directly where the howling had occurred. Stub whined and tried to steer her away but she ignored him.

"No, Stub. I want to go this way."

The hyena pushed her firmly, then growled. Snowfur gasped. "Stub! No growling!"

Stub curled his lip up into a snarl, then shoved her to the ground.

"Ow, Stub stop!" She tried to push him off but the hyena was too strong for her.

Footsteps crunched the leaves of the forest floor. Stub backed off of her to let her sit up. She sat up and looked up.

Adalger planted both hands on his hips. "Well, the brat is trying to leave? Whatever for?"

Snowfur shook her head and immediately lied. "No! Lilith said you were hunting. I wanted to go hunt too."

"Oh? You do, do you? Well I am sure you will enjoy this prey," He laughed darkly.


	17. Chapter 17

The Huntsman dragged Snowfur through the forest. She winced whenever he pulled her too tightly but the man did not seem to care if she hurt. Stub followed the Huntsman obediently without one concern for her either. It was clear that she was in distress but the hyena did not care.

The trio crested over a hill where a cacophony of snarls and howls were loudest. Snowfur gasped at the sight. Below them Arthas, Stub, and Rot were surrounded by the beasts that followed the Huntsman. Arthas deftly slashed at the creatures lunging at him. He sliced off limbs, heads, and whole parts of the abdomen. The other Stub bit them with his flashing teeth and clawed at wooden bodies.

"That's...That is Arthas. And Stub! There are two of them? Why?" Snowfur stuttered. She glanced between the two hyenas, suddenly confused and frightened. Adalger took off his antlered skull to reveal his face and therefore his emotions. He was grinning viciously.

"Because one is real and the other is fake, you stupid child."

Snowfur turned around just in time to see the illusion fade off the false Stub that stood next to her. It was nothing but a dog like creature made up of meat, wood, and bone. The creature ran off to join its siblings in the fight. Snowfur winced as it lunged at the real Stub and bit the hyena. The girl tried to back away from Adalger but the man anticipated it and snatched at her wrist. He twisted it painfully. She cried out.

"What is wrong? Don't like Gorak Tul's hospitality for these pathetic intruders?"

Snowfur shook her head. "You are hurting me. Please stop. And leave Stub and Rot alone!"

Adalger merely laughed. "They are just animals. You won't worry about them long."

A cold, high pitched laugh echoed in the forest. Snowfur turned back to see another version of herself appear out of the mists. The girl held out a jagged dagger. She then lunged at Arthas, the dagger flashing dangerously. Arthas turned to defend himself against the new attacked, but hesitated.

He hesitated, something Snowfur had never seen before. She had seen him kill hundreds of times and had always killed with impunity. But this was different. The fake girl stabbed at him but Arthas recovered and grabbed the girl's arm and twisted it until there was a snap. She screamed and Arthas proceeded to slash his sword toward her throat.

Snowfur recoiled as she saw her own throat slashed and blood spurting out from the throat. The illusion faded and the abomination fell to the ground.

"Look at that! He killed a false version of you. What a loving parental figure he is," Adalger commented dryly.

The girl started to head down but the Hunstman grabbed her and shoved her against a tree. She cried out in pain. The man smiled and leaned in closely. Snowfur could even smell the reek of blood on his breath.

"Gorak Tul always tells me to be nice to the children but I have never tasted the difference."

A chill went down Snowfur's spine. She tried to believe she had misheard, but the Huntsman continued.

"Personally, it is no fun for me to eat without enjoying myself beforehand. What's wrong? You look upset? Oh, did you think Gorak Tul liked you? That he was going to love and care for you?" Adalger taunted, shoving her harder against the tree, "I am called the Hunstman because I hunt down Drustlings like yourself. Gorak Tul can't leave Thros after all but I can."

Snowfur squirmed in his grasp, trying to get away from the Huntsman. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She wouldn't believe it. Gorak Tul had been nice to her, like Volugg had. The orc never hurt her so why would the Drust? Adalger was just being cruel for his own amusement. She had known people like that. Captain Falric, one of the deathknights ordered to watch over her by her father, had went out of his way to mistreat her whenever he was bored. Adalger was just like him.

"You are lying!" Snowfur tried to declared defiantly, trying to hide her uncertainty. Her bravado utterly failed as Adalger just burst out laughing. He took her chin in one hand and turned her head to look at Arthas, surrounded by the beasts.

"Why lie? It's not like you could escape. That's your only hope. The monster you were fleeing in the first place. Better off with us, right?"

Snowfur wanted to sob. There was nothing she could do. Either stay in Gorak Tul and potentially get eaten or end up with Arthas, the one who...

Who had come all this way to find her. He had promised her that he would not go save her again this time but he came anyway. Why would he have come? Was that even him or was he just an illusion as well? Could this be an elaborate, cruel test?

Adalger reached toward his belt and pulled out a jagged blade. "A small taste wouldn't hurt. What Gorak Tul doesn't know-"

Snowfur panicked and grabbed the hand that the Hunstman was holding her with. She bit down on his bare skin as hard as she could. Adalger roared in pain but his grip loosened. The girl ducked just as he slashed at her with the blade. Instead of cutting her it merely cut the bark of the tree behind her. The girl slipped between his legs and ran off into the forest. She didn't get far.

Adalger grabbed her long white hair and yanked her back. Snowfur screamed. She tried to break free but the man had a firm grip on her.

"You want to be a defiant little bitch? Fine. Hope you enjoy fear."

He let her go, and Snowfur was alone. She looked around the forest and saw nothing but fog and trees.

"Stub? Rot? Arthas?" She called out, hoping for an answer.

Suddenly there was a dark figure in the mist. The figure was tall, but shorter than Adalger and Gorak Tul. She expected it to be Arthas, and cautiously made her way over to the person.

"Arthas?" Snowfur whispered.

The mist cleared and Snowfur fell backwards. The first thing she noticed was the gold and blue armor and that was all she needed to know about the person.

"Vile creature of the darkness!" The paladin shouted before raising his holy hammer and attempting to strike Snowfur. The girl rolled out of the way and scrambled to her feet. She ran off as the paladin shouted off condemnation and accusations. Something snarled behind a tree and Snowfur barely had enough time to react as a lion jumped out at her, claws out.

Snowfur immediately fled to a tree and started to climb it. She pulled her bow forward and nocked an arrow. But when she shot the arrow straight into the lion's back, the large cat did not even react. Arrows would do nothing. She needed something like a dagger or a sword to hack at it.

The lion seemed to realize she wouldn't be coming down, so it started to attempt to come up to her. Before it could, a black furry thing attacked it.

"Leave my friend alone!" The thing said. Snowfur looked in amazement at what looked like some kind of undead dog attacked the lion. The black dog bit and tore at the lion until the creature reverted back to its original form and fled. The dog raised its skull head towards Snowfur.

"Hello! It is me again. Grendel! You are the most crazy person I have ever met, you know."

Snowfur immediately scowled. "I'm crazy? You are a dog! And you could have warned me, you unborn filthy roach licker!"

Grendel's head jerked back in alarm at her insult. His tail lowered.

"I'm sorry," He whimpered. Snowfur climbed down the tree and shoved the dog. Grendel yipped as he fell over.

"Apology accepted," Snowfur responded.

Grendel turned back into his small human frame. He was smiling now. "You do? That's very nice of you. Come on now, before we get eaten!"

He grabbed her hand and dragged her through the forest, ignoring her protests.

"Let me go!" Snowfur snapped angrily.

Grendel shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh, the other Drusts might hear you. We need to stay together or we can get lost. I need to find my father. He is probably confronting Gorak Tul about this."

The girl scowled but quieted down. Grendel led her to a small depression in the forest.

"Here, I left the angry man and your fluffy friends here with Mother."

The two came to a cave where another, much larger undead dog thing sat. It immediately jumped up and ran toward Grendel.

"Told you mother! I'm fine. Look at me!" The boy said to the dog. Snowfur looked at the dog, then at Grendel. Then back at the dog.

"That's your mother? How'd that happen?" She demanded, thoroughly confused.

Grendel snorted. "I mean...She isn't the one who gave birth to me. But she is my mom!" He buried his face into her fur as the thing licked him furiously. Snowfur backed away before Stub and Rot came running to her. She immediately felt relieved at the sight of them.

It was a different emotion seeing Arthas approach her, so Snowfur tried to focus her attention on the two animals. She let both of them lick her dozens of times, giggling at the feeling.

"Snowfur."

The girl looked up in surprise. Arthas stood beside her, his armor stained with blood and gore. He was giving her a strange look she hadn't seen before. She thought it might be guilt or something, but she didn't know for sure.

"You came for me. Even though you said you wouldn't," She said accusingly.

He grimaced. "Yes, I know. You were being an insolent little...anyway, I just wanted to..." He trailed off. Snowfur tilted her head in confusion. Rot stopped licking her and snarled at Arthas. It wasn't very intimidating but it did the trick. Arthas narrowed his eyes at the dog.

"Fine! I'll say it. I. Am. Sorry! You happy?" He snapped at Rot. The dog wagged its bony tail.

Snowfur realized what was happening. Her father was attempting to apologize. She wasn't sure what exactly he was apologizing for, so she assumed it would be for the most recent event of him scaring her off. She sat up straight.

"Apology not accepted," She stated.

Arthas stared at her for a full minute. "Excuse me?"

Snowfur bared her teeth. "You heard me. That's not enough."

She felt the air lower a few degrees in temperature and knew who caused it. Arthas looked murderous.

"Should I have just abandoned you to your fate? Let you die at the hands of monsters?"

Snowfur snapped back at him. "You are a monster yourself! The only reason I escaped is because you killing me is better then them eating me."

That took Arthas off guard and his anger seemed to be redirected.

"Eat you? They were going to eat you?"

At that point everything seemed to break inside of Snowfur. She started to sob.

"Yes! They want to eat me...I don't want to be eaten. So go ahead and kill me now first! I don't care anymore."

Nothing was going right. Snowfur wished Volugg had never made her leave and that she could have stayed with him forever. Better yet, she wished she had drowned in the shipwreck, or just been killed by a paladin or some other soldier when Icecrown Citadel was besieged.

Arthas was not done with her yet. "Why the hell do you think I'm just gonna kill you! That lion that attacked you, that sailor that seemed like he was going to attack you...I saved you from them! Why would I do that?" He demanded fiercely.

"So you could kill me yourself?" She whimpered.

The man shrugged. "That's a very reasonable answer. Only I'm allowed to kill you because you are mine. But no, I'm not going to kill you yet! What use would you be to me then?"

Snowfur sniffled, wiping her tears on her tattered dress. "So, you aren't going to kill me?"

Arthas smirked. "Not right now. I'm not even going to hurt you. Unless you keep running away."

That was new information to Snowfur. He had hurt her so many times she'd lost count. Now he said he wouldn't hurt her. She then felt suspicious. It sounded to good to be true.

"What if you aren't the real Arthas? I do not trust you."

Arthas gave her a contemplative look, then pulled something out of his pocket. It was a heavily stitched up doll that once looked like a normal human but now looked more like one of the abominations that her father had created on the regular. Snowfur gasped.

"That's my doll!" She snatched it out of his hands and hugged it tightly.

"The dog found it and brought it to me. Do you trust him?" He asked

Snowfur nodded.


	18. Chapter 18

Grendel led the group through the forest, occasionally stopping to get his bearings from his mother. It seemed at first that the Hunstman and his pets were gone for good, but that did not last long. Beasts came out of the mists and Arthas immediately went into action. He cut each one down as they came. Snowfur saw them turn into various people, but she never recognized a single one of them. They were all focused on Arthas. A female human mage was a frequent occurrence. Snowfur winced once when one of the creatures transformed into me.

They finally crested the hills that surrounded Gol Inath. As far as Grendel knew, the giant tree was the only exit outside of Thros. There, Gorak Tul stood at the rough stone entrance. Spread out throughout the forest was more of the wood was more of the beasts and the men like creatures. A wolf larger than a horse faced the Drust. Around the forest were smaller wolves more like Grendel's mother. As the group approached cautiously, the large wolf looked at them briefly.

"The Hunstman is shirking his duties. There are loose children in your domain."

Gorak Tul turned to glare at them. His eyes went to Snowfur and she worriedly bit her lip.

"Kalma! What are you doing with those feral animals. Come here now, little one."

She shook her head, remembering what Adalger had revealed to her.

"Adalger told me you would EAT me!"

Gorak Tul scowled. "And you believed him? You stupid child."

Snowfur winced at the condescending tone.

The giant wolf snorted and stepped between the Drust and the group.

"She clearly has rejected your protection. She is under my protection now."

The Drust snarled at the wolf. "You are always skulking about trying to take what is MINE, Greenstalker. Centuries of your meddling has worn on me too long! Either leave or I'll have a new wolfskin decorating my hearth!"

Grendel's mother growled threateningly. Greenstalker did not react visibly to the threat.

"You are trapped in Thros, Gorak Tul. You are weak and cannot stop me from taking the child. Step aside or else," The wolf advised.

This calm response enraged the Drust. He swung one large hand at the wolf. Greenstalker recoiled and now he was visibly angry. The fur on the back of his neck rose straight up. Though there was no flesh on his skull to show emotion, his eyes flashed darkly. All of the wooden and bone servants of Gorak Tul rushed at the wolf.

Grendel's mother howled in alarm and proceeded to defend Greenstalker. Grendel turned into a wolf and followed her. Arthas quickly unsheathed his blade and sliced off an arm of one of the attacking monsters. One dog thing attempted to lunge at his throat, but Arthas merely pirouetted and beheaded it.

Greenstalker tore apart dozens of the constructs while also defending himself from Gorak Tul.

Adalger came riding up to Gol Inath on his stag. He yanked its reins and observed the fighting before focusing on Snowfur. He dismounted and avoided all the wolves and the creatures while making his way toward Snowfur. The girl backed up a step and gasped. Arthas was at least ten feet away from her.

"Arthas! Daddy!"

Arthas whipped around and saw the threat approaching. He held up one hand and tightened it into a fist. Shadowy magic circled the girl's waist and forcibly yanked toward her father. He caught her in his arms and shoved her behind his back.

Adalger tilted his head and smiled mockingly. "Why protect the little chit? You could always make another. Or can you?"

"Better than you," Arthas retorted. The Huntsman laughed.

"You are out of your depth, corpse breath. This is my domain," He said, hefting up his own jagged sword. He then slashed at Arthas, who dodged it deftly before responding with an attack of his own. The two clashed. Snowfur cowered helplessly as everyone around her fought. She didn't even fight one of the four legged creatures. Even Grendel was in the middle of the fighting.

She was useless. One at the creatures had dropped a dagger. The blade was jagged and crudely made,similar to Adalger's sword, but it was much smaller. The worn handle consisted of yellow faded bone. Snowfur picked it up. She had to do something. One of the things attacked Grendel and she decided to take the advantage. She attacked the wooden and fleshy man. It collasped when she plunged the knife in its chest. Grendel watched it fall to the ground and smiled.

"Thank you! Best keep that knife. It's nice and sharp!" The boy recommended.

Gorak Tul snarled. "Enough of this!"

He let out a wave of sapphire blue magic and all of a sudden everything went dark. Snowfur couldn't see a thing.

Snow suddenly blasted into the girl's face. She staggered back from the sudden cold. The forest of Thros had been replaced by a place of snow and ice. Somewhere Snowfur knew better than anywhere. Diamond hard glacial ice framed the cliffs around Snowfur. Bones, rusted swords, and dented armor littered the crunchy snow.

Far in the distance, IT was there. Icecrown Citadel thrust out of the frigid landscape and seemed to stab the sky with its sharp angular architecture.

Eagerly, Snowfur started to run toward it.

"Snowfur!"

She stopped immediately and the joy she felt at homecoming, dissipated. Arthas stood a few yards away from her, disoriented at the change of landscape. Arthas strode over to her and put one arm around her protectively.

"Stay by me," Arthas commanded. Snowfur nodded. Before she could ask how they might escape from this dream, Arthas stiffened. He glared at something and tightened his grip on her shoulder.

The Lich King stood there.

Snowfur immediately reacted. Terror filled her whole being. Years of abuse and fear caused her to shutdown. Snowfur collapsed to the snow, tucking himself into a ball. Her chest constricted painfully. It seemed as if the very air froze and she couldn't breath anymore.

"Snowfur! It's not real. He's not me. That is one of the creatures hiding behind an illusion!

The voice sounded muffled. Snowfur tried to look up but her sight was blurred. It felt as if someone crushed her chest.

"Snowfur!"

There was fear in the voice. Snowfur lifted her head weakly. The Lich King was closer. His armor seemed to soak in all light. In his hand, the familiar sword Frostmourne glittered menacingly. Arthas somehow laid in the snow on all fours. The girl frowned, confused at the sight. What was happening?

_You are in my realm. You are nothing_ , The Lich King gloated.

_I control your fears._

Snowfur looked from the Lich King to Arthas, then back to the Lich King. It dawned on her. This was not just her fear. It was Arthas's fear as well. Not only did he have a fear, but it was of himself.

Snowfur's chest loosened. She took the dagger and gripped it as tightly as she could. The false Lich King did not see Snowfur rise to her feet. She carefully walked in the snow, trying to avoid making noise. Not that it mattered. The Lich King had his focus entirely on Arthas.

Arthas saw the girl coming but wisely avoided making eye contact and alerting the false king.

"You don't control any part of me. You are not me."

_That's the worse part. Your denial. I AM YOU._

The Lich King raised Frostmourne and Snowfur attacked. She stabbed him in his side, between the ribs. He roared in outrage and everything melted away. Adalger twisted around grabbed Snowfur by the neck.

"I would have preferred you alive but now I don't care!" He then threw her backwards. The forests returned just as Snowfur hit against the trunk of one of the bloody trees. She crumpled to the ground.

Adalger yanked the dagger out with a grunt of pain. He held the wound with one hand.

"Little bitch," He snarled but Arthas had recovered and it was his turn. He slashed at Adalger. The Huntsman tried to dodge but the sword slice right across his face. He stumbled back, screaming in agony.

Arthas did not purse the now retreating man. He went straight toward Snowfur's limp body. She didn't respond when he touched her. She was not dead, due to the still beating sound of her heart. He gently hoisted her into his arms and looked back at the fighting.

Blood flowed from Greenstalker's back leg, but otherwise he looked confident against the worse off Gorak Tul. Bite wounds covered his body. The Drust saw the dwindling numbers of his forces.

The wolf growled at Gorak Tul. "Leave now before I decide to finish what the humans started centuries ago."

The Drust bared his teeth but took a step back. He then glared at the limp form of Snowfur.

"Keep that pound of flesh then. It means nothing to me."

Gorak Tul retreated with his servants. Only until they left that Greenstalker finally let his guard down. He collapsed to the ground. Grendel gasped.

"Father! Are you okay?"

The wolf groaned. All of his pack crowded around. Arthas carried Snowfur toward the tree Gol Inath. Greenstalker licked his bloody wounds and forced himself back to his feet. He turned his skeletal head to Arthas.

"We must go, before he changes his mind. Thros is not safe for the children."

__________  
 _"Saphi! Where did you run off to now?_

_Sapphire giggled but not loud enough to be easily heard. She retreated farther behind her hiding spot, the Shadow Throne. It was made for her father, so it was large enough for her to easily hide behind it. Hide and seek was a frequent pastime for her and Marwyn. Sapphire could easily hide in even the tightest spots within the Citadel. She knew every inch of her home. Sometimes it took hours for Marwyn to locate her, if he even did. Sometimes the hide and seek sessions would end only when Sapphire grew bored of tormenting Marwyn with worry._

_Marwyn always overprotected her. She could do nothing without his permission. Sapphire sometimes would wonder if he was only so overprotective only because of orders. Or if he truly cared for her. But he was the only one who paid attention to her, so it didn't really matter. Sapphire loved him._

_"Where did the little ghoul go? Did she disappear? Is she...invisible?" Marwyn called out, laughing._

_The footsteps echoed louder. Sapphire covered her mouth as he edged closer and closer to her._

_Suddenly, silence. Sapphire started to peek out to scare him, but Marwyn had his head tilted to one side._

_"Yes, Master. I will resume to my post," He said. Sapphire couldn't read facial expressions very well but she figured something was wrong._

_She crawled out from behind the throne. "What's wrong, Uncle Marmar?" She asked._

_The deathknight looked down at her in surprise. "Ah. There you are. It seems I need to return back to my post. Potential intruders. You go to your room, sweetie. I'll bring you their heads if you behave."_

_Sapphire nodded eagerly. She liked it when Marwyn brought her trophies of his kills._

_"I hope there is lots of blood! Love you, Marwyn!" She hopped up to her feet and hugged one leg of the deathknight. He patted her head affectionately._

_"Love you too. Suffer well, Saphi. Go on now!"_

_The girl smiled and ran off toward her room. That would be the last time she saw Marwyn._


	19. Chapter 19

Arthas pressed a hand against Sapphire's chest as she lay on the ground. She whimpered as he felt her ribcage. As he pressed more firmly, Sapphire started to cry. Three times she yelped in great pain. She squeezed the doll in her arms tightly. Each time Stub and Rot, curled up between Sapphire's legs, lifted their heads in concern. Eventually he finished checking each rib.

"I am not doing this for fun. You have three broken ribs."

Sapphire sniffled. Her cries and obvious pain had caught the attention of the wolves, where a few of them came over to circle the two people. Greenstalker had led Arthas to his family's cave for protection. The cave itself only spanned a few hundred feet. Stalactites dripped with water, echoing throughout. The wolves, or Thornclaws as Grendel called them, had lived in the cave for generations. Some bones littered the cave floor but in general the cave was surprisingly tidy.

In a corner of the cave, Grendel had shown off the difference between him and his family. This was where Sapphire lay. As a human, Grendel need more than rock floor for a home. Rough fur skins covered the primitive room. He also had an urge to collect things. Rocks, pinecones, feathers and other things found in the forest.

One of the wolves, which Arthas guessed was Grendel's mother, leaned forward to lick some of the girl's tears. The girl reached up to pat the wolf's head. Stub, suddenly deciding he wants attention to, sat up and made cackling noised. Sapphire tried to sit up to pet him, but Arthas stopped her.

"Did you not hear me? Broken. Ribs. Unless you want to puncture your lungs or aorta, Stay down."

Sapphire winced at his harsh tone. Arthas sighed.

"Please, just rest. All right?" He asked in an apologetic tone. The girl nodded.

It had not been long since they had entered the cave. Arthas had expected Gorak Tul to retaliate but it seemed he and his so called Huntsman were licking their wounds instead. For now, they seemed safe.

Greenstalker himself lay in the middle of the cave, literally licking his wounds. All of the Thornclaws were nervous, pacing around their leader. Grendel sat next to him, mixing a variety of herbs in a bowl. After preparing the poultice, he stood up.

Arthas looked over at the boy, expecting him to offer the stuff to the wolf, but Grendel did not even glance at Greenstalker. He headed straight over to the two humans.

"I made this for Snowfur," He said happily, offering the bowl to Arthas.

He hesitated to take it. While the boy had been helpful, Arthas did not entirely trust him.

Grendel frowned. "It's for her bones. So they will heal quicker!"

He then smiled shyly at Sapphire. Arthas realized that the boy seemed to like her. He took the bowl from the boy.

"Fine. Thanks."

The gesture pleased Grendel and he then tilted his head. He looked critically at the state of Sapphire. It was not just her ribs that were damaged. Her dress had been ripped extensively. This seemed to give the boy an idea.

"Snowfur needs new clothes!" He declared. Arthas watched in astonishment as the boy rummaged around his own belongings until he pulled out a few shirts, pants, and even a proper Kul Tiran long coat. The boy himself wore rustic leather and fur clothing. Grendel looked back at Snowfur and then sized her up to find clothes that were roughly the same size as her.

Sapphire seemed very intriqued at the clothes. "Why do you have those clothes but wear furs?"

Grendel looked up. "Oh, they smell like human. I don't want to smell humany...but I still like them."

He finally found a plain white shirt, some faded leggings, and a few accessories as well. Arthas took the clothes from the boy. Grendel stood there for a second but his mother growled at him. The boy jumped.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Mother says I should leave for you to change. Sorry!" He then scurried off back to Greenstalker. Grendel's mother forced other curious wolves away from them.

Sapphire scowled as he left. "He's a weirdo."

Arthas snorted at her statement. He had expected her to be more subdued from the pain, but she was in good spirits. With that, he carefully sat her up and helped remove the ruined clothes. She looked sad as Arthas threw the dress away.

"Volugg gave me that..." She whispered. At least her other belongings were mostly intact, including the ugly hat that she seemed particularly attached to.

"It's just a dress. Besides, these clothes will be better for travel," He tried to say comfortingly. Sapphire nodded obediently, then picked up the longcoat. She pulled it on and looked up at her father.

"It's too big," She complained. The sleeves especially were too long.

Arthas proceeded to roll up each sleeve. "You'll grow into it."

After she was dressed, they both sat in silence. There was an uncomfortable tension between the two. Arthas wanted to break it, but did not know how. Rot stared at him intently.

"I do not believe saying sorry is enough, is it?" Arthas began slowly.

Sapphire suddenly became very interested in the buttons on the longcoat, not deigning to answer. Arthas persisted.

"Snowfur…"

The girl looked up at him, eyes watery with unshed tears.

"Not Snowfur. Not Kalma. I'm just Sapphire."

Stub whined and rubbed his head against her arm. Rot licked her hand. She picked up Rot and hugged him. She refused to look her father in the eye.

"I've heard worse names," Arthas replied, attempting humor.

She nodded. "You once killed a deathknight because their name was Harmony."

He laughed. "Did I? I do not remember that."

The girl nodded once more, and grew upset. "You didn't like my name either. Marwyn named me after Sapphiron but you...you didn't like it."

A single tear ran down her cheek. Arthas sighed.

"I am sorry about what I said a couple days ago. I am sorry about Marwyn."

She returned to playing with the longcoat buttons and muttered that it was all right. Before Arthas could attempt more conservation, there was a deep growl. Greenstalker it seemed had gotten to his feet and limped over to the newcomers. His green eyes were locked onto Arthas. The man left Sapphire in the care of Rot and Stub to stand before the wolf.

"How is your offspring?" Greenstalker asked. There was something dark and familiar about the wolf that Arthas could not figure out. Nothing good would come of making Greenstalker an enemy.

"A few broken ribs but good," Arthas said. The wolf looked at the teary eyed girl briefly, then brought his full attention back to the man.

"Physically and emotionally damaged. You have made a great many mistakes, Arthas Menethil," The wolf accused.

Greenstalker knew who he was. Arthas gritted his teeth defensively and would have rashly retorted but the wolf's eyes flashed dangerously.

"You have no Helm nor Frostmourne anymore. Nothing more but a common, if skilled, deathknight. Think before you speak."

The wolf knew too much but the words rang true. No longer did Arthas have the same unlimited power as he had as the Lich King. He could kill dozens if not hundreds of humans. Greenstalker had hidden power and Arthas doubted he could take on the wolf if it decided to kill him. But Greenstalker seemed, if not an ally, at least neutral to Arthas.

So Arthas heeded the wolf's advice. "Will we be safe here?"

The wolf huffed and seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. "Not long. Gorak Tul is persistent. A day or two perhaps."

Sapphire needed weeks for her ribs to heal properly. Arthas voiced this concern but the wolf did not seem very concerned.

"This is not an important matter at the moment. Right now I need to know what your intentions are."

Arthas scowled. "Intentions? About what?"

Greenstalker looked over at Sapphire, who had found a stick in Grendel's collection and was now throwing it for Stub and Rot to chase after and bring back. Two Thornclaws had stopped to watch the exchange curiously. One decided to join in and snatched up the bone from Stub before the hyena could get it. Stub appeared deeply offended.

"The child. I saw the scars. I know of you. Are you intending on harming her?"

Arthas shook his head fervently. "No. I mean...I have harmed her in the past but...That's the past."

Greenstalker seemed to approve of this answer but continued on. "Where do you intend to go?"

This Arthas could not easily answer. Until recently all his plan consisted of was finding Sapphire. At first he thought to take her to Stormwind, but this part of his plan had been diverted briefly.

"I suppose take her to Stormwind."

The wolf stared at him unblinkingly. "That seems unwise. Neither of you are compatible with other humans."

Now the wolf was irritating Arthas. Arthas had mistreated and abused Sapphire but she was still young. Despite her naivete and ignorance of the world, the girl was still alive. During his search for her, he had briefly thought that she should be taken to Stormwind and everything would be alright. The girl would just become a part of normal human life. The traitorous deathknights of Acherus had been accepted by both Horde and Alliance. Arthas could easily blend in as one of them and no one would be the wiser. Everything would be fine.

Greenstalker seemed to know what Arthas was thinking. "Sheep do not tolerate wolves in their flock. And like a wolf, you stand out with your bared fangs and hackles raised. The small one will be worse, growing up thinking she is a sheep but the second her fangs grow, the flock will reject her."

Arthas immediately rolled his eyes. "As much as I enjoy analogies, I can't say this one is very accurate."

The wolf snorted. "Your arrogance blinds you."

The man did not feel like tolerating the wolf's remarks anymore. "I am grateful that you saved Sapphire from Gorak Tul, but you don't understand what I'm trying to do. Sapphire is human. She needs to be with other humans."

"Perhaps you are right. I cannot judge what one parent feels is right for their offspring."

This gave Arthas pause. The wolf was a father as well. Grendel was a human, but lived amongst wolves. Greenstalker might feel what Arthas said as a slight against himself. Arthas softened his words. "Yes. I could be right or I could be wrong, but I don't see any better options for me."

Greenstalker inclined his head. "Reasonable words. I shall help you. Tonight I will request aid from a friend that will take you swiftly to the mainland, out of Gorak Tul's grasp. From there, you decide your offspring's fate."


	20. Chapter 20

Stub crunched on the pinecone he had in his mouth. Bits of pinecone fell out of his mouth as he chewed, falling into Sapphire's lap. She merely brushed them off of her. Grendel came rushing forward and tried to save his precious pinecone but the hyena leapt to his feet and rushed off.

"No, no Brother! Give it back...It's mine! I found it!"

Sapphire watched as the two ran around the entire cave, irritating the thornclaws wherever they went. Stub would tease Grendel by slowing down and almost letting him catch up, before sprinting off full speed just out of the boy's reach. Grendel eventually lost his stamina after a while. He slumped to the ground in front of Sapphire.

"He is very fast," Grendel groaned.

"Because he has four legs and you only have the two," Sapphire said matter of factly.

Grendel rolled over to look at her. She scowled at his doglike behavior.

"You don't seem to like me," Grendel observed. He sat up and smiled at her, as if expecting her to disagree.

Sapphire merely nodded. "You are right. I do not."

The boy's mouth dropped open. Stub finally returned with the pinecone. He laid down the now moist pine cone in front of Grendel. Grendel didn't notice.

"I was hoping to be friends! I have never had a friend before...Human friend that is."

That took Sapphire off guard. She had never had a friend her own age. Never interacted with another child before. Grendel seemed very irritating but perhaps all children were annoying. Maybe she was annoying and didn't even know. Falric frequently called her annoying but everything annoyed him so she never took it personally.

She looked down at her lap, suddenly embarrassed that she was acting so mean to him.

"I'm sorry. We can be friends if that's okay."

Grendel gasped and he almost immediately lunged at her. He then stopped inches away.

"Oh no! I can't hug you. You are broken!" He said, horrified that he had been about to hurt her.

She gestured nonchalantly. "It's fine."

The boy smiled. "Oh good. Hey, you wanna hear about my collection of stuff?"

He did not wait for an answer. He immediately went into a long one sided conservation where he picked up each object in his crude room and showed it off to her. Random bones, sticks, rocks, and other things made up his collection. Most he had found in the forest. Some manmade things he scavenged from the closest villages and homes of people out of their trash. He seemed particularly proud of a complete human skull he found at an old battleground. Stub seemed far more interested in his talking than Sapphire was. Rot did not even pretend to listen. He passed out from boredom about a minute in.

The boy picked up an antler and held it out for Sapphire.

"Here, you like this? I found a buck as he was shedding his antlers for the year and grabbed one!"

Sapphire took the horn and examined it. There were four sharp points along it. She ran her hand over the smooth pale bone.

"It's really nice," She commented. It was an honest answer. She really did think it was a nice treasure. Better than the random rocks and sticks. Sapphire held it out to return it to Grendel but the boy suddenly got all fidgety and waved at it dismissively.

"No, You can have it...if you want."

Sapphire's eyes widened and she clutched the antler with both hands. "Really? You are giving this to me?"

The boy smiled shyly and nodded. "Like I said. If you want. It is just an antler."

Before Sapphire could respond, Grendel's mother came trotting over. She saw how the two children were behaving and locked her eyes on the antler. Her jaws opened and her tongue came out in a very amusing looking smile. She whined a bit at Grendel. Now the boy's cheeks turned bright red.

"I am not!" He denied. Sapphire had no idea what he was answering but the boy grew very agitated. She frowned.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, worried. Grendel whipped back to face her.

"No, of course not! Mother is just being annoying. Never mind. I...I gotta go do something."

With that the boy sprang up and fled the cave. Stub cackled before chasing after the boy. Grendel's mother watched him leave and tilted her head at Sapphire. She then padded over to the girl and licked her cheek before laying down next to the girl. Sapphire lifted her hand, but hesitated. She then laid the hand against the wolf's fur. Then started to stroke the fur. It was softer than Stub's fur. The wolf planted her head in Sapphire's lap. There they stayed until night came.

________  
The sun slowly set over the forest, giving the trees a blood red tint as if they were bleeding. Clouds of bats started to blanket the sky as they flew in search of food. Arthas leaned against the rocks surrounding the wolf den, sharpening his simple steel sword. He watched boredly as Grendel ran out of the cave and into the forest. The boy passed by a few wolven guards that kept watch over the den.

"I found him abandoned."

Arthas turned his head briefly to see Greenstalker standing there. The wolf seemed sorrowful.

"I'm sure if Gorak Tul had been given the chance, he would have taken Grendel as he tried with your child. My pack has done their best to raise him...But I have thought upon what you said."

Arthas thought he knew what the wolf was implying. "If you are trying to ask me to take him in-"

The wolf shook his entire body as if he were wet, and then snorted derisively.

"Of course not. But I know he can no longer stay here. Sending him will spare him any revenge Gorak Tul is no doubt planning for me. And it will give him a chance to live as a man instead of a wolf."

The wolf looked out toward the forest, deep in thought. Arthas put down his sword. Just like him, Greenstalker seemed to have doubts on how best to take care of his offspring. It seemed comforting to see another parent struggling with their own choices. Arthas dislike that feeling.

Eventually the sun set completely and all that was left to light up the sky were the small stars. The moons had not yet risen yet. Greenstalker looked to the north and growled. Concerned, Arthas stood up and brandished his sword.

"No need for that. My friend has come to see us. Pray that he is willing to help."

All the wolves outside waited patiently, looking to the snowcapped mountains of the north. When Arthas had learned about Kul Tiras as a child, he did not remember hearing about any mountains. Two figures slowly approached the den, one slender and tall, the other shorter and bulky. At first, Arthas thought they were his size but as they got closer he saw they were much larger. The thornclaws cleared the way for their guests. Like Greenstalker, the short hulking mass had face that was devoid of flesh, showing off the bone. He was much bulkier than the wolf and its gait reminded Arthas of a bear.

His slender companion was easier to identfiy. The shadowy doe stopped a few yards from the den before the bear did. Her ears flicked nervously and she sniffed the air worriedly. Arthas did not blame her. She was surrounded by predators.

Greenstalker walked forward to greet them. "Ulfar. And Athainne. Thank you for agreeing to meet."

The bear inclined his head. The doe did not look at Greenstalker. Her dewy eyes, which had a violet glow to them, locked in on Arthas and she tilted her head.

"I was intrigued by your request. Where is the Drustling?" The bear asked. Greenstalker nodded toward the cave.

The bear sniffed in the direction and reared his head back in alarm. "No. She is tainted by Thros!"

Greenstalker barked, almost aggressively. "If she were so tainted, I would not be helping her! I sense nothing."

The bear growled. "You are blinded by it due to your own dealings in death magic, Son of Goldrinn."

At that comment, Greenstalker bared his teeth and growled. The doe's ears shot right up and got between the two of them.

"There is no need for this," The doe consoled in a alluring, feathery voice. She glanced between the two of them. Ulfar snorted irritably. The fur stood up defensively along Greenstalker's back. The doe gave him such a harsh look that the wolf eventually took a step back and lowered his head submissively. She then twisted her neck towards Arthas, staring deeply at him.

"You are dead but not," She stated. Arthas nodded, taken aback by the doe. She then strode confidently over to him, and sniffed him with her soft velvet nose. She then sniffed toward the cave.

"I do not smell Thros on either. Death, certainly, but they are not what you think, Ulfar."

The bear bridled. "You disagree?"

Athainne stamped one hoof into the ground. "I do. And my mate would agree with me. I shall help these lost children flee from here."

Ulfar did not seem to like this statement but it seemed that the doe held power over both bear and wolf. How a deer of all things was the most intimidating of the three, Arthas did not know.

The bear turned to leave but not before commenting. "I may be old but I'm not foolish. This sounds like a mistake waiting to happen. Incurring the wrath of Gorak Tul is not to be taken lightly. Even if he remains in Thros."

Athainne held her head up high and ignored him. They all watched him leave. As his figure slowly disappeared into the night, Athainne turned back to Arthas.

"So, you need to leave Drustvar...to where?" She asked. Despite his dark mood, Arthas felt better hearing the doe's soft but confident voice.

"Stormwind hopefully," Arthas replied.

Athainne's ears drooped, clearly distressed. "A city full of humans."

Greenstalker nudged the doe with his nose. "Well, he IS a human."

Athainne brushed him aside and entered the wolf den, talking as she went. Arthas and Greenstalker followed her quickly.

"I will try my best but I am sure you understand why someone of my...species does not like being near large numbers of humans."

Arthas looked her up and down. "Because...you are a deer?"

"How perceptive. Ah, is that her?" Athainne peered at the injured Sapphire. Grendel's mother and Stub sat next to her but got to her feet at the doe's approach. The wolf respectfully stood aside as the deer slowly crept over to Sapphire. Stub merely cackled in alarm and hid behind the girl at the sight of the larger mammal. Sapphire winced as she sat up but she quickly forgot about the pain. Her eyes were full of confusion but wonder at looking up at the large deer. Arthas at first wanted to stand next to her protectively, but it was obvious that the doe was no threat to them.

Athainne lowered her neck and brushed her nose right up against Sapphire. The girl smiled. The doe seemed to exude a calming presence.

"Hello!"

The doe's tail wagged. "Hello, little one. I see you are injured."

Sapphire nodded, and planted one hand against her side. "My ribs are broken."

The doe sighed, then lifted her head to turn to Greenstalker. "The girl and her father. What about your boy? How will he leave?"

Greenstalker casually sat down and scratched his neck with a back leg. "He takes a different path."

"As elusive as ever! And you are surprised my mate does not visit you often!" She argued. Greenstalker's head snapped back in alarm at her tone. All of the other wolves quickly came to his defense, growling and barking at the doe. She seemed unimpressed.

Grendel came back as the cacophony continued and then approached Greenstalker. Arthas took this time to go over to Sapphire to check up on her. The large wolf looked down at the boy.

"Grendel. You and I have to talk."

The boy shook his head. "I know. I heard you talking about me and mother. I know you mean to send me away from the pack."

Sapphire's eyes widened. "He has to go too?"

Arthas answered her. "Yes. For his safety it seems. Not with us though. He goes alone."

Sapphire gasped and then tried to stand up. Stub immediately grabbed her sleeve with his mouth and yanked her back down to a sitting position. "No! Why should he be all alone?"

Athainne sighed. "Sometimes wolves must leave to form their own packs."

"That's not fair!"

Ironic, Arthas thought. Sapphire had been completely isolated from normal human interaction and never interacted with other children. Yet, now she sounded exactly like ever other child. During all this, Greenstalker and Grendel were both talking. The boy looked positively despondent.

"Life's not fair," Arthas retorted. Sapphire scrunched up her nose in anger. Exactly like her mother did. Then, she seemed to grow thoughtful. She looked down at Stub, then called out to the giant wolf.

"Why can't Grendel bring someone with him? Like a friend!" She demanded. The wolf looked up at the bold question. He growled softly but it wasn't aggresive.

"Thornclaws are not well received by humans. He has no other friends."

Sapphire gestured to Stub. "He...can take Stub."

The wolf tilted his head. Grendel's mouth went agape.

"You would...You would let me take brother Stub with me?" He asked incredulously. Sapphire patted Stub. The hyena licked her hand and seemed to know what was going on. He trotted over to the boy, who knelt down and hugged him. Greenstalker shook himself and sighed.

"I can not object to this."

Arthas eyed Sapphire critically. "Why are you willing to give up that mongrel? Now you are alone with me."

"I still have Rot," Sapphire retorted. As if to emphasize, Rot barked defiantly at Arthas. Athainne watched the exchange with amusement. Everything seemed settled. Stub and Grendel would leave with Greenstalker. The doe would take Sapphire and Arthas out of Drustvar, though how Arthas did not know. When he tried to ask, the doe merely ignored him.

Although he did not get physically exhausted, Arthas felt drained. The last few days had been overwhelming. The past few months if he were honest with himself. His entire world had been upturned for the worse. He had been king, ready to kill and destroy the Horde and Alliance and eventually the world. He had all the power and armies to go with it. Now, he sat in a cave of wolves, with the only undead at his command being a half rotten dog.


	21. Chapter 21

A high pitched chirping noise and other weird noises woke up Sapphire. She sleepily groaned. Light shone through her eyelids but she did not bother opening her eyes. Instead she rolled over onto her stomach, so the light was not as strong. This did not help with the noises. Finally, Sapphire sighed and blinked her eyes open.

The luscious forest she lay in was nothing like the dry grasslands of the Barrens or the dark misty forests of Drustvar. These trees did not bleed and had leaves of a soft green color. As she took in her surroundings, a bird as yellow as the sun flew overhead, making the same noise that had woken her.

"I was hoping you would wake soon," A voice said.

The dark doe stood guarding over Sapphire, seemingly nervous and flicking her ears almost constantly.

"Where are we?" Sapphire asked, too curious about the forest to care how she had gotten to it.

"Humans call this Elwynn Forest," The doe responded.

She lifted her slender head and sniffed at the air. "Everywhere I go, I can smell humans. You are safe here but I am not. Humans enjoy my kind as food. Atleast you woke now so I may leave as quickly as possible."

Sapphire sighed, disappointed that the doe would leave. She was so soft and comforting to the girl. But concern came over Sapphire.

"Wait...Are you sure Gorak Tul cannot find me here?"

The doe did not answer at first. She seemed very thoughtful, and paced in the clearing. Sapphire saw her father also lying in the clearing, still asleep. Rot was curled up on the man's chest but was wide awake. He wagged his tail when he caught Sapphire's eye.

Athainne finally decided to respond. "While Gorak Tul cannot get you...His servants most certainly can. But be at ease. I do not normally do this, but I would feel wrong to leave you unprotected. I have a gift for you. Or curse. I do not entirely know what to call it."

Sapphire tilted her head. "Well..I do like gifts!"

The doe snorted. "Then call it a gift if it comforts you."

With that, the doe trotted over to her and pressed her nose against Sapphire's forehead. Her hot breath blew over the child. As quickly as the doe touched her forehead, she pulled back. Nothing had changed. Sapphire frowned.

"I don't see any gifts," Sapphire announced.

"Because you don't need it yet. But you will."

At that the doe disappeared, alarming Sapphire. The girl jumped up but her broken ribs protested loudly. The girl knelt down in pain. Rot barked with worry. He hopped off of Arthas and ran over to her. He ran circles around her, barking at the top of his lungs.

"Quiet dog," Arthas groaned. When the dog refused to stop, the man finally sat up. He saw Sapphire kneeling and clutching her side, then he realized where they were. He jumped to his feet.

"How the hell did we get here?" He demanded angrily.

Sapphire winced at the tone but answered him just the same. "The deer lady said she brought us here."

Arthas look all around them, bewildered. "How?"

The girl shrugged. She wasn't given an explanation by the doe. Perhaps there was a reason for it. The doe seemed very secretive. She would not even explain what "gift" she had given to Sapphire. At first, Sapphire opened her mouth to tell her father about it, but thought better of it. He seemed to be preoccupied with more important things. The doe seemed to have made sure all of their belongings were present as well. Nothing seemed missing.

Rot found Arthas's spare cloak and started to chew on it. The deathknight snarled before snatching it away from the dog.

"Why? Literally every time you can, you try to destroy my stuff," He snapped. Rot barked angrily.

Sapphire collected her own belongings, hiding her smile as she listened to the exchange between the two. After they collected their belongings, Arthas came over to Sapphire.

"I can carry you. I don't believe we are far from Goldshire."

The girl nodded. "Okay. That is fine."

Arthas leaned down and hoisted her up into his arms. She immediately felt like she would fall to the ground, and grabbed her father's arm tightly. Then she did something she was scared to do. Sapphire wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself. Arthas jerked in response, but he did not tell her to stop.

Instead, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

_________  
Sapphire ravenously shoveled the scrambled eggs into her mouth, barely even tasting them. She did not really care to taste them. Across the table, Arthas did not even watch her. He seemed preoccupied observing the activity in the tavern. They had entered the Lion's Pride Inn after a short walk and Arthas had ordered Sapphire a large breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toasted bread.

After finishing the eggs, Sapphire felt less urgency in eating and she too looked around the tavern, curious. Despite it being morning, there were alot of people. Everything seemed dull to Sapphire. She thought taverns were more lively and fun but everyone seemed...sad or tense. Perhaps even afraid. She couldn't figure out which one it was. Most were milling about, talking quietly. Some ate breakfast like Sapphire. The bar was mostly empty. Only a night elf sat at the bar, head down and clutching at a drink.

That reminded Sapphire of her own thirst. She looked at the empty table and then up at Arthas. He noticed the attention and turned to face her.

"Yes?" He asked, not unkindly. Sapphire gestured at her food.

"I'm a little thirsty," She said meekly.

He nodded and stood up. "I'll get you some milk."

"No! I...I mean I don't like milk. Could I have something else?" She asked, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Right. No milk. I'll try to remember," He said before leaving.

Sapphire watched him leave. She then crunched down on a piece of toast, before slipping a slice of bacon to Rot. The dog hid under the table. Living people did not like the sight of undead like him so she kept him out sight. The dog snatched the bacon and munched on it loudly. His tail wagged happily. She heard her father's voice as he spoke with the robust innkeeper. She watched the conversation. Whatever it was, her father did not seem to like what he was hearing. He spoke with the innkeeper a few moments more before the mortal man pulled out a jar of something and handed it over to Arthas.

Her father turned and headed back to the table, a scowl on his face. Sapphire took the jar and looked at the orange liquid within.

"What is it?" She asked, concerned.

"Orange juice," Arthas replied absentmindedly. The girl took a sip and couldn't find anything wrong with it. She liked the tangy flavor and gulped down a large portion before eating more of her toast.

Her father still looked distracted by whatever the innkeeper had said. He did however see the questioning look on her face and decided to address it.

"According the innkeeper, Stormwind was attacked recently."

Sapphire choked on her toast and had to cough a few moments before responding. "Attacked? By who?"

Arthas snorted in derision. "Deathwing. A giant black dragon made out of fire and metal, as he called it. Destroyed the park, melted a few of the fortifications, and even toppled down a statue."

Rot stuck his face over the table and tried to sneakily steal another bit of bacon. The girl merely gave him another rather than deny him.

"Are we still going to go there?" She asked, then thought of another more obvious question. "Why are we even going to Stormwind?"

Arthas tapped the table with his fingers. He looked like he did not even want to answer.

"I suppose I was thinking it would be the safest place for you. Obviously, that was a mistake," He speculated.

Some voices were raising in volume across the tavern, drawing their attention to the elf Sapphire had noticed earlier. A human had started arguing with him. The night elf himself had seen better days. His clothes were travel worn and his purple hair could have used a few brushes from a comb. Across his back was something...strange. Sapphire narrowed her eyes at it, trying to figure out what it was. It was wooden and did not look like any kind of weapon.

Then, she realized it was a lute. She knew what music was but had never shown an interest in it before. Now she was curious why the musician was being yelled at. Something about a wife and the elf doing something that the man did not like. Clearly the elf was not happy and was trying to argue back but all of a sudden one man grabbed the elf by the shirt collar. Sapphire gasped. Arthas followed her eyes and took in the scene. To the girl's surprise, Arthas stood up and went over to them.

"Is there a problem?" Arthas asked with a calm, controlled smile on his face. Sapphire knew what that meant.

"Yeah there's a fucking problem! This long eared bastard fucked my wife!" The human snarled. Sapphire tilted her head in confusion. She still didn't know what the problem was.

"No, he's got the wrong guy! I would never commit adultery!" The elf pleaded.

Arthas looked between the two of them, then addressed the human. "Innocent until proven guilty. Why not relax and have a drink? It's too early to be yelling."

The man's face reddened and he released the elf before hurling abuse at Arthas.

"I don't need a rotting CORPSE to tell me what to do. Pull the worms out of your skull and go back to your coffin."

Arthas nodded in amusement, before looking back at Sapphire and smiling at her. The man seemed to not understand how much danger he was in. He pulled back a first and tried to punch Arthas. The deathknight grabbed the man's closed fist and twisted it harshly. The man yowled in pain. Sapphire expected a full blown bloodbath but Arthas let the man's hand go and whispered something in his ear. Whatever he said was enough, for the man clutched his now sprained or even broken wrist and fled the tavern.

With that, Arthas returned to their table. Sapphire stared at him.

"You...you didn't kill him."

Arthas waved his hand dismissively. "Terrifying the man was enough. Didn't feel like causing more of a scene."

The musical elf came over immediately, a smile on his face.

"Thank you, good knight! I am most grateful for your timely-"

Arthas's smile went away and was replaced with a look colder than ice. The elf quailed. Arthas scolded, "Next time, perhaps you should ask the woman if she is married before bedding her."

The elf cleared his throat nervously. "Yes, I suppose. But love should never be denied in my experience! Perhaps men should solve problems with words, not violence."

Arthas rolled his eyes. Sapphire did not know what was going on but now she had the chance to ask the elf about his lute.

"Is that a lute? Are you a musician?"

This seemed to be exactly the thing the night elf wanted to hear. He immediately devoted his attention to her. He suddenly bowed elaborately.

"Why yes, little miss I am! Lethumo Nightwind, master of the written word, expert of all things music, and well traveled wanderer!" He took the seat next to her and set down the drink he had still been drinking. He smiled at both humans.

"What unique individuals! A broody deathknight with his...daughter, I hope, whose white hair shines like the full moon. What may I call you?" He asked.

His comment about her hair immediately won Sapphire over. She liked this elf. "My name is Sapphire and he is Art-"

"-Andrew. My name is Andrew," Arthas interrupted curtly, casting a sharp glance at her. The girl winced and looked down, ashamed. The night elf did not seem to notice the exchange.

"Miss Sapphire and Sir Andrew! Lovely names. What brings you to Goldshire?" He asked.

Sapphire could tell Arthas's nerves were quickly being eroded by the elf's cheerful nature. She held up her now empty jar.

"Can I have some more?" She asked politely. The deathknight merely took the jar and left the table.

Lethumo watched him go. "Seems a bit of a morose fellow. That's alright, I appreciate all personalities!"

Sapphire nodded, pretending to know what he meant and that she agreed with it. The elf took a long gulp from his mug and went on talking.

"I just arrived in Goldshire myself. I plan on going to Stormwind, my home away from home as it were."

The girl smiled. "Oh, we are going to Stormwind! Dad wants us to live there."

Lethumo gestured very energetically. "Well, Stormwind is second only to Darnassus! I don't blame him."

Arthas returned, handing over the orange juice to Sapphire without even looking at her. Hostility on his face was clearly directed at the night elf, who seemed to realize this fairly quickly. Lethumo picked up his drink and stood up.

"Well, I hope you two have an exquisite day. Feel free to visit me in Stormwind, Miss Sapphire. I would gladly perform a song or sonnet in your honor."

Arthas made a sound of disgust as Sapphire waved goodbye at the departing elf.

"I like him," Sapphire proclaimed.


	22. Chapter 22

Stormwind. The last of the great human kingdoms. Well known for its impressive white stone, the city was a great wounded beast. Arthas eyed the half melted towers as they entered the Valley of Heroes. The most noticeable feature of the Valley of Heroes was the larger than life statues at the entrance or they had been. Most of the statues remained intact but now the mighty Danath Trollbane lay the stagnant muddy waters of the moat. Only the bottom parts of the legs remained fixed to the bridge.

Sapphire gawked as they passed the statues. Despite Stormwind being broken, still it was new and unknown to her. She went over to the plaques of each of the statues and took her time to read them. Arthas was impatient to actually enter the city but Sapphire seemed to want to look at everything.

Arthas gently herded the enthusiastic child to the main entrance and they finally entered the city. Now there were more things for Sapphire to observe. The blue roofed buildings of the Trade District welcomed everyone who entered Stormwind by foot or by gryphon. Almost anything that was sellable would be found in the Trade District. The busiest of all the districts, people crowded every street and alleyway. Beggars lined the streets. Despite being the major capital of humans, there was representation of all the Alliance races.

At first Sapphire stared in stunned silence, trying to keep up with Arthas. He maneuvered slowly through the crowds for her sake. It was easy for someone like him to walk through crowds. People moved aside to let the deathknight pass, shooting him looks of disgust, fear, or hatred. Arthas did not care. Even the most greedy of merchants did not wish to garner his attention. Instead they screamed and yelled their prices and wares at the other passerby.

"Arthas," Sapphire whispered.

"Andrew," He corrected darkly.

"I...I don't feel good," She whimpered. Arthas looked back and saw that her normally pale visage had turned grey. Every part of her trembled. Concerned, he picked her up and took her to the start of an alley. He set her down on a wooden crate. Tearing off one of his gloves, he pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. She was not feverish, but there was something clearly wrong with her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Too...too much," She gasped out. Her chest heaved with each breath. Despite being around multitudes of living people and hearing each and every heartbeat, Arthas could hear Sapphire's far more clearly. Her heart beat so fast it wouldn't surprise him if it imploded from the effort. Something was stressing her out.

Arthas looked around. Hundreds of people talked, yelled, and laughed all around them. The smells ranged from the pleasant smell of baked goods and roasted meats to the cloying smells of perfumes and the undertone of sweat and filth. Sapphire had never seen so many living people before, not even in Ratchet or the village in Drustvar. The sounds, the smells, even the sight of so many people was overwhelming her.

"Too much," Arthas repeated.

Sapphire nodded, closing her eyes. Then she did something Arthas would never have expected. She leaned toward him and pressed her face against his arm, making a pitiful noise.

"Okay, okay! Here, I'll carry you again. How about that?" He asked. She did not even respond. He picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck desperately.

Arthas tried to think of somewhere to take her so she could calm down. Just as he trying to think of a solution, he saw the purple hair and the lute.

_________

"Darling, you have nothing to be ashamed about! Everyone reacts the same way when first entering a glorious capital such as this!"

Sapphire took the cup that Lethumo Nightwind was offering her. After her episode, Arthas had quickly found the night elf. He immediately took pity on the girl and brought the two back to his own home, a small apartment in somewhere called the Mage District. Sapphire lay curled up on a very soft sofa, trying to understand what horrible feeling had over taken her.

She sipped the drink, not even noticing what it tasted like. She heard her father behind her, pacing like a caged animal. Lethumo leaned back and lounged in a chair, completely unbothered by his sudden guests. His apartment was small but it had large windows overlooking the streets. The lute was not the only instrument the elf played. Sapphire could not name everything she saw but she assumed all the strange objects on shelves and stands were some form of instruments. A large piano sat in the corner of the room, piles of papers stacked upon it. Luckily for this night elf that he did not live with the rest of the night elf population in Stormwind. The Park, where most of them had lived, was now nothing but a charred ruined that exposed the city. Most night elf residents in Stormwind were no doubt ash and bone, buried underneath the rubble that had crashed off the cliff and now sat in the ocean next to the harbor.

"Would you mind if I leave her in your care?" Arthas asked suddenly.

Lethumo raised an eyebrow. "Of course not! I could never deny a damsel in distress. But why? What business do you have that is so important?"

Sapphire raised her head weakly to look at her father. He was clearly irritated and it worried her that she was the cause of his irritation.

"We intend on living in Stormwind but now...I am not sure she can handle it. Still, we need a place to stay while I figure everything out. So i need to go look for an apartment or a room or-"

The night elf snorted in amusement. "Why search for something you have already found? I could never in good conscious just let the two of you sleep in a box or a rat infested building somewhere in Old Town! By the state of your appearance, I doubt you have the capital to afford anything better."

At that last statement, Arthas started forward at the elf but immediately stopped when Sapphire whimpered in pain. He saw her pleading look and gritted his teeth.

Lethumo stood up and gestured all around him. "No, no, no! You can stay here. I have a spare room."

"I doubt you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart," Arthas growled.

The night elf clutched his chest. "Oh, you wound me! For your information I am quite a philanthropic person...but now that you mention it, I would not be inconvenienced if I was seen walking around with a fearsome deathknight such as yourself."

"In case any more...disgruntled spouses show up?" Arthas jabbed.

Lethumo sighed. "You caught me. Can I be blamed for being a hopeless romantic and that both men and women connect with such strong emotions?"

Sapphire glanced between the two of them, occasionally sipping her tea. She heard Rot protesting in her pack and proceeded to open it. The puppy jumped out of the pack and shook himself. He barked at Lethumo. The night elf looked at the dog in reaction, and gasped in horror. Sapphire snatched the dog up defensively. She expected that the elf was going to be prejudiced against an undead dog, but he soon exposed his true reason of displeasure.

"No dogs on the sofa! Especially...dead dogs! He will ruin the upholstery," The elf wailed.

Sapphire returned the dog to the pack. She pointed at him aggressively. "You heard him. No sofa for you."

Rot hissed and brooded inside the pack. Lethumo gave the dog a look of disgust. "Sorry, I hate cleaning fur off of furniture. Not to mention whatever else that...thing might leave on it!"

Sapphire nodded in understanding though she did not really. Arthas folded his arms.

"I suppose I will accept your offer to stay here. If only until I can find somewhere else," He grunted.

"Fantastic! You also wouldn't mind doing some menial labour for me as well?" The elf asked, lifting one eyebrow and smiling with all his teeth.

_________

The Light seemed determined to drag Arthas as far down as it could. No doubt to teach him some kind of humility. Not only was he left with nothing, but he was forced to keep up appearances to avoid suspicion and persecution. He could not slaughter entire cities anymore. He had no army, no citadel, not even Frostmourne. Even without those, Arthas could easily kill but now he had to control his impulses. If he killed anyone, the entire city of Stormwind would converge upon him and even he wouldn't be able to kill everyone singlehandedly.

So, he did the tasks that Lethumo Nightwind asked. The night elf was a highly regarded artist it seemed. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. The elf gave Arthas letters to deliver to various people within Stormwind. He would then bring back letters for the elf. Sometimes Lethumo fancied fine wines or rare foods and would send Arthas out to buy them.

All in all, the tasks were not hard. A free room was more that worth the tedious requests.

Sapphire mostly stayed inside the apartment, letting her ribs heal. The room Lethumo had given them only had a single bed so Arthas let her use it. He did not necessarily need sleep. A week of proper bedrest improved her health immensely. Especially due to the fact she did not suffer Gorak Tul showing up in her dreams. Every night she slept soundly and deeply. Arthas felt that if Deathwing attacked the city again, she would merely sleep throughout the ordeal.

Occasionally the girl would join Arthas on the errands, especially if it involved going to a store or merchant. She found the aspect of selling and buying fascinating. When Lethumo gave Arthas money to buy something, he did not usually count it but instead gave Arthas more than he needed. So, Arthas took a little free reign in his errands whenever Sapphire and he went out.

One afternoon after getting used to Stormwind and it's busy environment, Sapphire followed him along as Arthas went off to buy Lethumo some wine. The two descended down the stairs of the apartment building and went out into the Mage Quarter. Sapphire looked up at the tower that overshadowed everything in the quarter. On the outside it looked completely normal, but inside was where most of the mages in Stormwind did all kinds of magic.

"Can we go up there one day?" She asked curiously.

Arthas replied noncommittally, "Perhaps."

If she had her way, Sapphire would have never left the district and explored every nook and cranny. Arthas gently herded her out of the district towards the canals. This always led to more, less gentle direction on his part. Given the chance Sapphire would lean over the stone ledges and try to investigate the muck dwelling fish or the floating debris of the city's inhabitants.

"What does Lethumo want this time?" She asked.

Arthas gave her the scrap of paper the elf had given him. "Some pinot noir and chardonnay."

Sapphire looked at the paper and then back at him. "What?"

"Wine, Sapphire."

The girl scowled. "I've never had wine before. It's like grape juice right? Do you think he'd let me try some of it?"

Arthas forced himself to not smile. "Even if he would let you, I would not. You are too young to have wine."

Sapphire bridled. "I'm twelve, I think!"

"Ask again when you are eighteen. Or twenty."

She sulked the entire way to the wine merchant that sat along the canals in the Trade District. Arthas received and paid for what Lethumo wanted. He expected to just return to the apartment but Sapphire's mood had not improved. Along the way back, there was a simple toy store. Arthas stopped briefly at the store's glass window, where a variety of toys were displayed.

Sapphire did not notice him stopping and kept walking for a few feet before she noticed. She looked back at him. "What are you doing?"

"See anything that appeals to you?" He asked, waving a hand at the window. There were a variety of toys from wooden soldiers, leather balls for kicking and tossing around, to a variety of soft plushie toys. Even from the window Arthas could see wooden weapons hanging on a rack and more advanced toys like little tanks and zeppelins.

Sapphire pointed to a furry stuffed bear. "What's that?"

"I believe its called a teddy bear," Arthas grumbled. The girl now scowled.

"Bears don't look like that!" She argued.

"And obviously they do not make good companions for children. Mortals are idiotic in that regard. Do you want it?"

Sapphire scrutinized the toy, then smiled. "Yes. I'd like the ugly bear."

Less than five minutes later Sapphire and Arthas were walking out of the store. The girl clutched the bear in one arm, her mood obviously improved. As they left a mother and her son passed by them on the street. The mother held onto the boy's hand. Sapphire glanced at Arthas. She then reached out with her hand and grabbed his free hand.

He immediately snatched it away. "What are you doing?"

Sapphire winced. "I...I saw someone holding hands with their child. I thought it's something that people do."

"It is not something that I do. Don't do that again."

They returned to the apartment in silence.


	23. Chapter 23

"The world is ending! Oh why must the beautiful die so young? Dragons, earthquakes, the Horde, and now what! A murderer roaming the streets, hunting down the humble and meek!"

Lethumo entered the apartment's kitchen, completely flustered. He held a handful of papers. Sapphire had learned about what a newspaper and found it fascinating. She had also learned about Lethumo was that he was dramatic. Everything minor seemed like a complete apocalypse to him.

Breakfast was simple for Sapphire, nothing but a couple slices of toast and cheese. So it was easy for Sapphire to ignore it to focus on the hysterical elf. She took the paper from his hands and read the front page.

The three murders that Lethumo spoke of all occurred in the middle of the night. Apparently the guards thought they were all connected because there seemed to be no suspects for any of them. Not to mention, the deaths were not quick. Broken bones, crushed throats, and dozens of stab wounds. None of this seemed too alarming to Sapphire, but apparently it was a major thing to Lethumo.

Lethumo continued with his rant.

"What is worse is that with all the other catastrophic events transpiring, no official seems concerned. Instead our fastidious guards are too concerned gazing up to the sky instead of the ground!"

With that, the elf collapsed into a chair and sighed. Due to being undead, Arthas had no need to eat so he had left the apartment early. So it was just Sapphire, Lethumo, and Rot in the apartment.

Sapphire sipped some juice before responding to the night elf.

"Well, Should they not look at the sky? What if that dragon comes back?"

Lethumo's face turned from worry. He smiled at her reassuringly.

"Oh you don't need to worry, little saber cub! If he had wished to destroy Stormwind, I think he would have done it the first time!"

Sapphire seemed unconvinced, but she did not press the issue. She changed the subject back to the murders.

"Who do you think is killing these people?" She asked curiously.

Lethumo's drama returned and he sighed greatly. "I do not know, but clearly it is a pernicious scoundrel with no morals or scruples!"

An idea seemed to occur to him and he suddenly seemed more worried than before.

"Oh dear! You must promise me not to go out at night! None of the murders have been children but I'm sure this louse would not hesitate!"

This confused Sapphire. All in all, she and Arthas had only stayed in the elf's apartment for little over two months. It almost sounded like the elf cared for her wellbeing. But Gorak Tul's manipulation had soured her trust in others. She even doubted why Volugg had been so nice to her when she had nothing and had been no one.

Sapphire meekly nodded to his request. "I promise. I do not really leave this place much anyway."

The elf stood up and smiled. "Well, lets change that. Today you are going to have some fun with me!"

After the two of them ate breakfast, Lethumo put on a fancy coat and a hat. Sapphire tried to copy him by putting on her Kul Tiran longcoat and her floppy hat. He smiled at the sight. "Aw, that's cute. First thing we are going to do is get you some decent clothes."

The store he brought her to was very similar to the one that Volugg had brought her to in Ratchet, but it was more organized. Rolls of cloth were meticulously piled up in shelves, organized by color. Racks of clothing crowded the store. One of the people who worked at the store immediately came up to the potential customers.

"Good morning! How may I help you?"

Lethumo gestured to Sapphire. "This young miss needs some new attire."

With that the woman looked at Sapphire, and then at what the girl wore. Sapphire did not like the look on the woman's face.

What Lethumo and the strange woman considered decent and what Sapphire considered decent were vastly different. They kept trying to encourage her to wear the ugliest clothing Sapphire has ever seen in her entire life. In the Scourge, most of the clothing worn by cultists were black or other dark colors. Skulls and chains were the most common patterns on the cloth. For mortal humans, it seemed they liked bright colors and decorated their clothing with patterns of flowers or other fragile, stupid things. Sapphire scrunched up her nose at every single piece of clothing offered.

The two adults got exasperated by her insistent refusals that they let her choose her own clothing. Sapphire perused all of the clothing that would fit her. Finally, after some time she came across things she actually liked. She called for Lethumo. The elf and the woman came over.

"Oh, you like those?" Lethumo asked.

Sapphire nodded. The woman looked annoyed but she helped the girl take them to the fitting room and assisted to help her try them on. After some tense discussions with the woman, Sapphire finally came out of the fitting room in her new attire. The tunic Sapphire had picked out was Stormwind blue with golden trim. The pants were simply brown but of a better material than her old pants. Around her shoulders was an simple wool cape as rich blue as her tunic.

Lethumo approved greatly and clapped at the sight. "What an improvement!"

Sapphire smiled. "You think so?"

"Oh I know so! You now look like the squire of a grand knight or like a little prince."

The woman spoke to Lethumo in a hushed tone. When the elf's face darkened, Sapphire grew concerned. Lethumo seemed to ask the woman something, who in turn responded. When he noticed Sapphire's worried look, he immediately cut the woman off and smiled at the girl.

"How about you try on some of the stuff we suggested and I'll buy you those?"

Sapphire nodded, still hung up on what the woman had said to Lethumo.

The elf paid for everything and he asked for the tailors to create similar clothing with minor changes for Sapphire for the future. The store only had clothing so they needed to go to a different place for new shoes. By noon, Sapphire was wearing new clothes and new boots, with the extra stuff to be delivered from the store to the apartment. Lethumo took Sapphire to a friend's house for lunch. It seemed that this friend of his, some noblewoman, had planned a party and invited the elf a few days before.

The rich noblewoman and her friends, who admired Lethumo's talents, immediately doted on Sapphire. Sapphire really disliked the undue attention from all of the people but Lethumo gave her a reassuringly smile and the girl quietly tolerated the unpleasantness. They made comments about Sapphire's unnaturally white hair but none of them seemed to be insulting to Sapphire. Since she was so thin, the women practically force fed her a vast range of strange unknown food. This suited Sapphire just fine. She could eat without needing to answer any of the questions the women presented to her. Lethumo answered them to the best of his knowledge.

"Oh what a darling little creature!"

"She's thin as a rail. Are you feeding her enough, dearest Lethumo?"

Lethumo puffed up. "Of course I am! This forlorn foundling only freshly dropped upon my doorstep! Oh a tragic tale. No mother to claim her! No love to comfort her! Only her and the malodorous death knight that is loyal to her!"

He regaled the women with how he found Sapphire and Arthas, which was completely inaccurate. Sapphire wanted to correct him but all the women spoke over her. They gasped in horror and in awe at the elf's selflessness in "saving" Sapphire from ruin and malice.

After they left, Sapphire confronted him on his deceit.

"Why were you lying to all those women? You didn't save me from pirates! Or fight off a bear...You were drinking at a tavern," She demanded.

Lethumo waved his hand dismissively. "Of course not. But I know how to play at the heartstrings of the people! The poor little white haired girl and her moody deathknight guardian? Oh they ate it up! One or two of them might be moved enough to...donate some money towards your education. Especially if I'm your teacher!"

Sapphire frowned. "So you...used me for money?"

The elf stopped walking and gave her a horrified look. "What, no! I know how hard is it when you are young with no prospects at life. I was merely helping you. It just so happens that it might help me as well!"

It sounded like he was using her, despite his protest. Lethumo Nightwind was one of the nicest people she had met. But Gorak Tul had seemed nice to her at first. Volugg had been nice to her too. Had there been another motive for him to help her?

All this just confused Sapphire. She did not know who to trust and if she could even trust anyone. She definitely did not trust her father entirely, but his actions were so contradictory to what she knew about him previously that she felt like he was not a threat At least not a threat to her. Everyone else, even the dramatic night elf, was suspicious. But he had been more than willing to buy her things. Sapphire felt so conflicted on her feelings.

She looked at the elf's free hand. At first she hesitated to do it, but she finally took a deep breath and reached out to take the elf's hand. He didn't snap at her or pull his hand away. He glanced briefly down and twined his fingers between hers for a better grip. Sapphire saw the hint of a smile.

The two returned to the apartment. Lethumo handed her the packages that had been delivered.

"There you go! I'm sure you are much happier now that you have clothes yes?"

Sapphire nodded. "I've never had such nice clothes! Why'd you buy me them?"

Lethumo collapsed into his armchair and fully stretched out. "That coat of yours looks like it came off a corpse from the Second War. That hat of yours...It looks like it has seen better days. And your father is either too preoccupied or too vacuous to notice."

"What does vacuous mean?"

Lethumo leaned forward and waved for her to do so. She leaned forward, curious.

"Vacuous means lacking of intelligence. Stupid. Dumb!"

Sapphire immediately started to giggle. She had never heard anyone call her father stupid before. He would be furious if he heard it. The elf did not know the kind of danger he would have been in if Arthas had walked in at that moment. But he did not come in so everything was going to be okay. Or so she thought. The elf had laughed as well but it died off as he started to frown. He gave her a rather serious look now.

"Those scars on your back...The woman at the tailor told me about them. Where did you get them?"

Sapphire withdrew, panicking. When she had been changing, she had not even thought about the woman seeing the abundance of tough scars that covered her back. They did not hurt so she never really thought much of them. But for other people, that amount of scars must be disturbing to them. The elf took one of her hands quickly and put it in his own in an effort to comfort her.

"Don't worry! I'm just concerned for your well being," He reassured her. The elf was not using any of his usual range of large, eloquent wording for this conversation.

The girl just shrugged. "I don't know where I got them."

Lethumo raised his eyebrows. "Oh you don't? In that case, tell me when you do remember. Will you promise me?"

She didn't want to look him directly in the eyes and instead focused on the wooden floor between her feet. Then, she nodded. The night elf patted her hand.

"That's good enough for me. I won't press you."

Before she could help herself, she lunged forward at Lethumo. She flung both of her arms around his neck as an embrace. The elf immediately reciprocated and hugged her back. Letting go seemed impossible. What seemed like hours passed, but it was only a minute or two. Eventually she pulled away from him. The elf cleared his throat.

"Right. Okay. I have some work to do. Why don't you go out and do...I don't know. Human child things."

He patted Sapphire on the head and quickly left the room.


	24. Chapter 24

_Rain poured down upon Stormwind. Thunder clapped after each flash of lightning. Very few people were out, both due to the weather and the late hour. One man staggered out into the street along the canal. To the casual observer or bored guard, this man would look like a soaked drunk on his long way home._

_Arthas knew better. The man had been a little drunk, but not to the extent where he would be stumbling. His teetering gait was due to the stab wound in his abdomen. Arthas casually followed behind him, not expecting any kind of trouble. He could have easily killed the man before but that would have ended it all quickly and left Arthas with nothing to do._

_"Help! Somone help-"_

_Arthas tightened his fist and dark magic squeezed the man's throat shut. It would not be a good thing to alert the guards. While Arthas would not be opposed to a bloodbath, he really did wish to alarm the city's population any more than he already had._

_He only let the man try to get away because it amused him. It was a futile attempt. The man would only be able to get as far as Arthas allowed. The downpour only aided him in this regard. Visibility was low for anyone who would look outside._

_Arthas came up to the man and took his arm. To anyone who might have seen them, it would look like he was offering help to the drunk._

_"No, please!" The man wailed. Arthas pulled him into an adjoining street and proceeded to break the arm he had been holding. The man tried to scream but Arthas physically crushed his throat. Lightning flashed._

_______

Sapphire woke to the sound of a particularly loud thunderclap. Sweat poured down her face like the rain had poured down on Arthas. Like the blood had poured out of that man's wound. Her head throbbed with dull pain. The girl glanced over at the corner of the room where Arthas slept. He wasn't there.

Shaken, she wrapped herself in her blanket and left the bedroom. The hallway was dark and empty. She peeked inside Lethumo's room but the only one inside was the elf himself, sprawled haphazardly across his own bed. His snores were evidence that he was still alive so she closed back his door. After entering the main living room and finding it too Arthasless, Sapphire curled up in an armchair and waited.

An hour passed. She had started to doze off but was roused when the main door opened. Water dripped off of whoever it was. There were a few heavy footsteps before immediately stopping.

"Sapphire?"

She looked over the back of the armchair and saw her father. He flipped back the drenched hood.

"What are you doing awake so late at night?" He whispered harshly.

Sapphire stared at him. "What were you doing out in the rain?"

"I asked first," He deflected.

Sapphire wrapped the blanket around herself tighter. She then looked away from him before biting her lip and answering. "I had a bad dream. You were killing a man in the rain."

The only noises to be heard were the rain outside, the dripping of water from Arthas's cloak, and Sapphire's beating heart. It was beating louder and quicker than she would have liked.

"I see. Bad dream indeed."

She heard him shrugging off his cloak and tossing it aside. Sapphire's heart nearly stopped when she felt a wet gloved hand rest on her shoulder.

"Clearly you already know my answer then. Are you mad at me then?"

She whipped her head up to stare at her father in astonishment, mouth agape. The room remained dark still so she could not see his face or his expression, but enough light poured in that she could see the rough outline of him.

"Mad? At you?" She asked, completely taken aback at the question.

"I somehow caused you to have a nightmare. Surely you are mad at me? Or outraged that I would murder a man in cold blood?"

Sapphire blinked, unsure how to respond. She did not feel mad at him. In fact, she thought he would have been enraged for her to know what he did.

"No! I was worried about you."

His hand slipped off of her shoulder.

"Worried about me?" He asked. Now he was the one who sounded surprised at the reaction. She nodded, forgetting that he could not see her.

"Yes, what if the guards had found you?"

Arthas laughed coldly. "I would have killed them."

"And then more would have come. Are you telling me you would be able to kill everyone in the city?"

"Perhaps." He sounded defensive.

The girl snorted in disbelief. "If you could you would have already."

"Maybe you are right," He admitted.

Sapphire reached out and took his hand. Arthas jerked back for a second, but he reluctantly let her hold his hand.

More booming thunder distracted Sapphire and she looked past her father to the closest window. Thunder and lightning did not scare her usually. They were not new concepts to her either. Icecrown frequently had dangerous blizzards and thunderstorms. These storms would often last days. This was not the issue. The major difference was that Stormwind and Icecrown Citadel were made up of vastly different materials. The Citadel's sturdy saronite walls could never be damaged by something as simple as lightning. Stormwind was a different story. While the stone walls were strong, most of the homes and building comprised of fragile, highly flammable wood.

"Can you carry back to the room? I think my ribs hurt again," She pleaded.

Arthas proceeded to press his hand against her side, where her ribs had been previously broken.

"Ow," She said unconvincingly.

"Ah yes, clearly you are in agony. Come here then," He relented.

Sapphire wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her into his arms. Arthas carried her to their room and planted her down on the bed. Sapphire immediately took up her teddy bear and doll and collapsed on her side.

"Good night," She yawned.

Silence, then he decided to reply. "Good night, Sapphire."

She tried her best to fall asleep. Even when the pounding of the rain died down, Sapphire's head still throbbed. She tossed and turned. After what seemed like hours, she sighed. What was wrong with her head?

Absentmindedly she reached up and ran her fingers through her white strands of hair. As she did so, she felt two very prominent bumps on the top of her head. She gasped and rose up in her bed.

"Arthas!" She hissed fearfully.

He woke with a groan. "What?"

"Something is really really wrong! My head...There are things on my head."

He lifted his head, partially curious. It was difficult for the girl to remain calm. She did not know what was happening and was scared.

"My head is throbbing. And there are bumps on the top of my head."

That got him extremely interested. He quickly stood up and lit a candle. She came over to him and let him look at her head. Upon seeing them, Arthas made it clear that he thought it was bad. He rushed out of the room.

"Lethumo, wake up!"

The elf quietly moaned. Arthas banged on the elf's door.

"What is it?"

"Sapphire's got an emergency. We might need a healer."

There was a thud and a cacophony of noises as the elf seemed to scramble out of bed. He flung the door open to reveal that he was only half clothed and his eyes were puffy form sleep.

He immediately demanded answers. "What's wrong? It's not a girl thing is it?"

Arthas pulled Sapphire forward and showed the abnormal bumps on her head.

"She has these...bone like growths coming out," Arthas answered. Sapphire could hear the confusion in his voice. Even he did not know what was wrong.

The elf sleepily glanced at her head and groaned. "All I see are antler nubs. Where are these growths?"

Silence. Before Lethumo could even grasp what he himself had said, Arthas grabbed the elf by the neck and pulled him closer. He was now fully awake and terrified.

"Did you say antlers?"

Lethumo immediately started to stumble over his words. "Well, yes! I mean that's what those look like! I should fucking know what antlers look like. I'm a night elf!"

Arthas immediately started to berate Lethumo over what an idiot he was but the elf asserted that what Sapphire had growing on her head were antlers. Antlers. Like deer have. The bony extensions of certain deer species that are often used as a means of defense as far as Sapphire knew. Deer are commonly hunted down, skinned, and eaten by humans. She immediately started to cry.

This got both men to stop fighting. Sapphire flung herself at Lethumo, full on sobbing.

"Little saber cub don't worry-"

"I'm not a saber cub! I'm a deer! Humans eat deer! Am I gonna be eaten?"

With that Lethumo snorted out a laugh but immediately regretted that outburst. "Sorry about that. No one is going to eat you!"

This did not reassure her, but the elf stroked her hair comfortingly. He glared at Arthas.

"Andrew, Tell her no one is going to eat her!" He snapped. Gone was any kind of theatrical speech that he often used.

Arthas suddenly smirked. "I mean, venison is good meat. She's scrawny but-"

"SIR!" Lethumo now yelled. Sapphire cowered at the elf's sudden ferocity. She tried to look for Arthas for guidance but even he had been taken off guard by the sudden change in tone.

Lethumo became full on hostile to Arthas, gesticulating and pointed very aggressively at the man.

"You are a harsh, detached champion of darkness. Your poor daughter deserves better than the definition of a demoralized derelict!"

Sapphire was sure that Arthas would murder the elf. She expected him to grab Lethumo and just rip his head clean off the shoulders. No such violence was enacted. Arthas merely turned his back on the elf and left the apartment for the second time that night. Sapphire watched him go, bewildered.

"What just happened?"

Lethumo stared at the door, equally lost. "I misspoke in anger at his attitude. He will return I'm sure. Probably just emotionally compromised. Your condition is certainly not usual for a human. Never seen one with antlers before."

Now Sapphire could refocus on her unfamiliar situation and she started to sniffle again. "I met a magical doe and she said she gave me a gift...Do you think this is it?"

The elf's eyes widened. "You spoke to a talking deer? A doe specifically? Not a pale giant stag?"

Sapphire shook her head. She never spoke to a stag, but remembered the doe did mention a husband. Perhaps the husband was the pale stag that Lethumo asked about.

"Well, I've never heard of a talking doe before. Tomorrow we can talk to a druid friend about your predicament."

With that, the elf went over to where he hung his cloaks. He pulled one on and went to the door. Lethumo turned and pointed at her sternly.

"I'll go get your lummox of a father. Uh...stay? Yeah, just stay there. No moving," He said and then he left her alone.


	25. Chapter 25

"Andrew!"

Arthas continued to ignore the night elf's attempts to speak to him. The damn elf persisted in trying to stop him, but Arthas needed to be alone. Finally the elf caught up to Arthas just as the man tried to leave the mage quarter. The rain no longer fell. Everything glistened in the moonlight. Lethumo reached out to grab Arthas but the man twisted around to face him, hand at his sword hilt.

"Please, let us just talk like men," Lethumo suggested.

Arthas scoffed derisively. "No thanks. Besides, aren't I a derelict as you said?"

Lethumo gave him an irritated look. "Okay fine, I apologize but you really pissed me off. Just because you are so unhappy with your lot in life doesn't mean you should continue to take it out on the kid! She's been through plenty."

The man curled his lip up in disgust.

"Oh yes, you know so much about us."

Lethumo planted both of his hands on his waist in a patronizing stance. Arthas merely raised an eyebrow in disbelief. If he so wanted, he could kill the night elf with but a flick of his wrist if he really desired it.

"I have enough observation skills to figure out enough," The elf said matter-of-factly, as if he were smarter than everyone else.

The man wished for it this conservation to be over. He turned as if to again ignore the elf, but Lethumo seemed determined to antagonize him.

"I know about the girl's scars. And all these murders all conveniently started when you arrived."

Anger flared up within Arthas. Again, he could easily kill Lethumo. It was highly doubtful that anyone would miss him. So close to the canals, Arthas could make it look like he slipped, fell into the water, and promptly drowned.

Coldly, Arthas replied. "Do you have any last words then?"

Lethumo gave the deathknight a stern look. "I don't think I will have any. Because all I want to do is help. It seems you are very conflicted about yourself."

The elf was showing a false sense of confidence, but Arthas could tell he was afraid. Fast heartbeats, his breathing turned shallow, and the tensing of his muscles showed his true feelings. For all it was worth, Arthas admired the bravado. Even facing a known killer and monstrous undead, the elf still managed to pretend.

" You seem to be a monster that doesn't...want to be one. You murder, yet you stopped that man from knocking out my teeth? You snapped at Sapphire, but you were showing concern for her before that. I think you just don't know what to do with yourself."

The elf thought he knew Arthas. He did not. No one knew what Arthas felt or what he thought. Lethumo did not even know who "Andrew" truly was. If he did, he would be even more scared than how he was now. This gave Arthas an idea. He was tired of pretending.

"So, you think you know anything about me?" Arthas hissed. The elf's confidence slipped a little.

"I mean you are a deathknight so I assume-"

Arthas cut the elf off, prowling toward him like a deadly predator. "Not just a deathknight. I am THE deathknight. I am Arthas Menethil. I was the Lich King. I have killed tens of thousands of people."

Lethumo backed up a step at each sentence, his demeanor completely changing to that of one of complete terror. Arthas grabbed the elf by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

"What were you saying about me?" Arthas demanded.

"That you are a vile sadistic cretin and that I appreciated everything about you and above all that you've got such heightened forbearance for pathetic worms such as myself? If you are going to torture me, could you at least not touch any part of my face? I love my face," The elf pleaded pitifully.

Arthas let go of Lethumo, who immediately collapsed to the ground and heaved a sigh of relief.

"You did get one thing right," Arthas scoffed, "You are a pathetic worm."

Lethumo dusted himself off, trying to regain his composure. It did not help that the rain seemed to regain its own vigor and droplets started to fall intermittedly. Arthas looked up at the sky with disdain.

"So, how come you are not dead and rotting in hell?" Lethumo choked out.

Arthas shrugged his shoulders. Even he did not know that. "Your guess is as good as mine. Now, am I going to have to kill you or are you going to keep your mouth shut? The latter option seems impossible."

The night elf's eyes widened and he immediately threw his hands up defensively. "No no no! I know how to keep secrets trust me. Once we return home, I can get a nice change of pants, cry in the bathtub, and probably vomit a little...then it will be like nothing ever happened! Yes?"

Without answering, Arthas grabbed the elf's arm. Lethumo let out a choked high pitched scream but it turns out the man was only helping him to his feet. When he realized that, Lethumo laughed nervously. Noticeably, the elf let Arthas lead the way so he wouldn't have to turn his back from the human.

When they got back to the apartment, they found it quiet. Sapphire had gotten over her initial panic. She lay curled up on the floor exactly where Lethumo had told her to stay, with Rot in her arms. Lethumo flung his cloak off and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, I didn't mean literally stay in that spot. I meant for her to just not leave the apartment!" He said in frustration.

Arthas gently picked her up. "She doesn't understand nuance very well, Lethumo."

Lethumo rubbed his face. "Of course she does not. I need a drink."

Before Arthas took Sapphire back to her bed, he saw the night elf yank a wine bottle off the shelf and start drinking straight from it.

_________  
The druid's shop had survived the destruction of the park due the fact that she had recently moved into the wealthier Trade District. Wide glass shop windows flanked the door, but nothing could be seen of the interior. Vines and leaves obscured the view, taking in as much sunlight as they could from behind the glass.

Sapphire shoved her face against the glass in awe of all the plants. She wore her hat over her head to hide the fuzzy antler nubs on the top of her head. Lethumo gently prodded her into the direction of the door. With a flourish, he opened up the door.

"After the lady," He said happily.

Even past the windows, the shop was filled with more plants. Jars and bottles lined the many wall shelves. Large sacks of soil, sand, and what looked like potatoes leaned up against barrels and crates strewn around the room. A long counter dominated the space, to which a night elf woman sat behind. Unlike Lethumo, the woman wore simpler clothes with muted colors. Leaves seemed to grow out of her lovely green hair. She lowered the book she had been reading. The look she gave Lethumo was not a comforting one.

The musician cleared his throat. "Dearest Alayna. What a fine morning-"

"-Until you showed up, it had been a fine morning," She hissed.

Lethumo immediately winced at the tone. Behind him, Arthas smirked.

Sapphire was not interested in whatever conflict Lethumo and Alayna had. The nice druid wouldn't be mean to her for no reason. She approached the counter. There was a potted plant right next to the woman. It was squat, round and spiky. Sapphire looked at it with interest.

"What's that?"

Alayna looked down at the girl with surprise. "Why, that's a desert plant called a barrel cactus. And who are you, little one?"

Sapphire beamed. "I'm Sapphire! What's a desert?"

The druid was taken aback for a minute, and then tried to explain. "Well, it is a place dominated by lack of rainfall and-"

Arthas cleared his throat, clearly not interested in a major lesson on biomes. He leaned forward and took the hat off of Sapphire's head.

"We have more pressing issues than geography lessons," He urged.

The night elf druid gasped. She grabbed Sapphire and plopped her on top of the counter to get a better look.

"Oh my. How did these get there?" Alayna said incredulously.

Sapphire piped up happily. "A magic doe gave them to me...Am I going to turn into a deer?"

Alayna glanced skeptically at the two adults, then back at the girl. She patted the girl gently on the shoulder comfortingly.

"No sweetie, I doubt you will turn into a deer. It was a doe that did this?"

The girl nodded. Alayna turned thoughtful, then bent down behind the counter. She pulled out a thick book and opened it. Sapphire immediately got bored and looked at all the plants. She saw one very blue flowering plant near the window. She slipped off the counter to go admire it. Both Lethumo and Arthas asked the druid questions, but Sapphire didn't pay them any attention.

The blue plant grew in a large container. It wrapped around a delicate wooden pole that stood in the middle. Sapphire touched a leaf, admiring how blue it was. But something was wrong. Sapphire did not know what it was but she started to feel ill.

"Miss Druid Lady!" Sapphire called out to get the druid's attention.

The elf looked up from her book. Sapphire pointed at the plant.

"Something is wrong with this plant! I think its sick," She said. Alayna scowled, but left the counter to examine the plant. She touched the leaves like Sapphire did and peer down at the soil beneath. Sapphire looked to where she looked and saw a pale powdery substance on the soil.

"Mold. My blue wort has mold!" Alayna said in shock. The elf then peered closely at Sapphire and again at her antlers.

Alayna looked over at Arthas. "You said that her mother was a magic user? A mage?"

Sapphire whipped her head up in shock. This was the first time she had ever heard anything about a mother. She had a mother? Her mother was a mage? Arthas nodded in response to the druid's question.

With that answer, the druid put her hand to her chin in a reflective manner.

"She could tell my plant was ill. You said you met both a talking wolf and a doe. With all this information, I think your daughter needs to be trained as a druid."

A druid! Sapphire immediately liked the sound of that. Druids could talk to nature things, grow plants and even turn into animals like cats...or even birds! This seemed like an answer that Arthas did not like. He grew angry and Sapphire instinctively hid behind the druid.

"My daughter can't be a druid," He sneered.

Alayna shrugged helplessly. "I am not an expert in these things. My major focus is on plants. Antlers growing from her head seem very obvious though. Only powerful druids can even grow them, though it usually takes decades even after they become masters. But you should get a second opinion."

Arthas growled in frustration, but Lethumo planted one hand on the man's shoulder.

"My uncle is a pretty good druid. I bet he can come to check this out."

Sapphire liked the sound of that. If he was related to Lethumo, this uncle would no doubt be very nice and fun to be around. She saw that her father looked doubtful of all this so she decided to try and reassure him.

"I'd like to be a druid, father. I could fly around as a bird!" She said with excitement. Being able to fly would be the best thing in the world to Sapphire. She especially liked feathers. This did not seem to help her father's mood.

Alayna proceeded to treat her poor plant with a liquid solution but she did add a comment of her own.

"I can't officially teach any students, but if your daughter needs anyone to talk to you can bring her by...Not you, Lethumo."

The musician gasped, offended. "Fine! Be that way. You never were a people person, Alayna!"

Sapphire reached over to the druid and hugged her. "Thank you!"

This gave the druid a start, but she smiled and returned the hug. Sapphire then turned to the plant and told it that she hoped it felt better.

"Come on Sapphire," Arthas grumbled before leaving the shop.

The girl immediately sprinted to him and waved farewell to the druid. Sapphire grabbed onto Lethumo's hand. He seemed equally upset, scowling and muttering under his breath.

"Ungrateful! I tried to love her but no, she prefers vines, roots and LEAVES over love," He growled.

Sapphire did not understand what he was talking about, and she really did not care. All she could think about now was turning into a bird or a cat. Druids could also talk to plants and animals. Maybe Sapphire could learn to talk to Rot finally so she knew what he was talking about. She saw a few birds flying over the city and thought again of birds and flying.


	26. Chapter 26

Children chased each other through the streets. They all giggled and laughed as they did so. Everyone ran from a singular individual who chased everyone else. Eventually the one person doing all of the chasing would eventually catch one person. They would grab the person then yell out "Tag, you're it!" then the original chaser would run off. The new chaser would go off to look for a new victim.

Sapphire watched them all with fascination from the café table that Lethumo sat her down at. He was busy drinking his third glass of wine. Because the night elf was too busy writing and singing, he never really learned how to cook. So whenever he needed to feed Sapphire, he just took her someplace where someone else would do all the work. This was fine by Sapphire. She got to eat all kinds of new things. Like sandwiches.

"Why are they doing that?" She asked.

Lethumo stopped drinking his wine. "For fun I suppose."

"Ooh, I like fun. I wish I could have fun," She said wistfully, watching the other children. One of the half elven girls ran really quick so she managed to outrun the others most of the time. She looked taller than Sapphire, with raven black hair. Sapphire bet she could catch that elf girl. She sighed.

Lethumo looked at the gaggle of children then back at Sapphire. He leaned toward her and smiled. "Well then. Go on!"

Sapphire blinked in surprise. She then grinned. "Really? I can just go on and just play with them? Just like that?"

The night elf looked up above the streets at the large clock tower. "Sure, little saber cub. Come home as soon as the the clock strikes five. You are perspicacious enough to count to five right?"

Excited, Sapphire nodded. She immediately crammed the rest of her food down her throat. She chewed it roughly. Lethumo gave her a slightly perturbed look. The girl washed the food down with some water. Then she hugged Lethumo.

"Thank you, Lethumo! Home when the clock dings five times! I promise!"

Sapphire ran off. However, she hesitated once she got closer. Which one did she talk to? Or did she just run around and expect them to just assume she was a part of it? Just as she started to panic, the elf girl saw her. Their eyes met.

"Hey, white hair! You playing?"

Sapphire's face turned hot. "If, If you let me. Am I-"

The elf girl rushed at her. She was a lot taller than Sapphire had thought previously. With a deft move, the girl smacked Sapphire in the arm. "Then you are IT. Catch me if you can, white hair!"

Sapphire watched the girl flee, completely taken off guard. Then Sapphire realized she was playing now. The elf was already well gone but one of the human boys was not as fast. She narrowed her eyes, and started to pursue the poor boy. Somehow as she ran around, she managed to keep her hat on. Lethumo had warned her others might stare at her without it. Antlers were not a common appearance for any race.

For an hour they played. Sapphire had been correct in that she would be fast. She caught the elf girl once, but she in turn got Sapphire twice. After most of the kids got tired, the elf girl stopped Sapphire.

"You're fast, white hair. What's your name?"

Sapphire's face turned hot again. "My, my name is Sapphire."

The elf twirled her delicate fingers through her dark hair. She smiled, "Really? Well, I am Scarecrow."

"Scarecrow?" Sapphire scoffed. That was the silliest name she had ever heard before. It definitely did not sound like an elf name. Scarecrow immediately scrunched up her small nose and shoved her.

"Yeah, you got a problem with it, girl named after a ROCK?"

The elf's aggressiveness told Sapphire that she shouldn't be messed with. Sapphire immediately shook her head, then looked down in shame. She should not make fun of other's names.

"I'm sorry."

The elf shrugged and waved her away. "It's fine. Hey, you wanna go skip rocks at the pond?"

"Skip rocks? What's that mean?" Sapphire asked, intrigued.

Scarecrow grabbed Sapphire's hand and started leading her on. "Don't worry! I'll show you, white hair!"

The pond that the half elf took her too was a very pretty place. Flowers grew along the sides. The water itself was so still and clear that Sapphire could see all the way to the bottom. The stillness was about to change.

Skipping rocks was basically what it sounded like. Throwing rocks across the pond so they would skip along the surface of the water. Sapphire sucked at it, but she did enjoy the sight and sound of the rocks splashing and hitting the water. Scarecrow seemed to know exactly which rocks to find and how to aim them before throwing them. Most rocks of hers would skip twice, but the best one she managed was five times.

Unfortunately, they could not have fun forever. Sapphire heard the clock bells chiming and knew it was time to go.

She dropped the rock she had been about to throw. "I'm sorry. I promised I would be back home soon."

"Oh, that's okay. Could we play again tomorrow, white hair? Same place?" Scarecrow asked, giving Sapphire a sly smile. She was very persuasive.

"I'd love too! Bye, Scarecrow!"

Sapphire ran off, feeling all sorts of emotions. The day had been so fun. Playing with other children was something that she had never experienced. She almost ran all the way home, very pleased with herself.

_______

Prowling the streets for potential prey was getting tedious, especially as the predator in question was getting up there in age. His knees hurt the most, but that would not stop him.

By now, he should have been given his eternal reward. However, that gift never came for him. The one who promised it lay dead, unable to reward anyone. He could have just gone back to living normally as a citizen of Stormwind, but he would never pretend to be so boorish.

As he skulked about, he saw a girl running down the street. He was not above murdering children but this one looked like a pitiful specimen, Her skin was as pale as a cave fish. She barely had any meat on her bones as well. No, that creature would not do. But something seemed off about her.

He creeped forward to get a glance at her. It looked like the human girl had white hair. It was virtually unheard of to see a human child having white hair. But he knew of one child that did have white hair. The same age, the same gender. It seemed highly improbable for that child to be in Stormwind, let alone alive. She surely had died shortly after Icecrown Citadel fell.

He watched the young one run off and thoughts began to form.

______

Lethumo dropped a massive leather bound book in front of his reluctant pupil. He produced a charcoal pencil and a thick sheaf of paper. Sapphire took the charcoal pencil and examined it curiously. Since he had decided to make Sapphire his student, he had taught her the finer arts of basic poetry and songwriting. She liked the idea of being a poet, but this new assignment seemed to change her idea.

"My astute new student! We shall now explore the jobs of vocabulary!"

Sapphire whimpered when she opened the dictionary and saw the walls of small text darkening the pages.

The night elf patted the girl's head with one hand. The other hand clutched his forehead.

"Today I have decided to give you busy work. Unfortunately this jarring hangover of mine leaves me woefully unprepared."

He had seemed extra sensitive to light and sounds that morning. To Sapphire, drinking wine seemed like something no one should do. What benefit does it serve when it causes such suffering afterward. There must be something good, otherwise why would anyone drink it? Lethumo flopped onto the couch and tapped the book.

"Go ahead. Start with A. Write any words that inspire you and add the definitions. Fills your heart with emotion."

Another whimper escaped the girl's lip. But she kept the pencil in her hand and began to read the texts. Lethumo watched her for a while, giving her suggestions and encouraging her to think with her emotions rather than her head. Whatever that meant. Either way, it was boring work. And eventually Lethumo's eyes started to droop. He fell asleep even before Sapphire reached the D section.

While she did her work, she barely noticed when Arthas returned home. She only looked up when he cleared his throat. The scene probably looked weird. Lethumo laying passed on the sofa with Sapphire smeared with charcoal. Her hands trembled.

"Please kill me," She begged.

Rather than fulfill her request, He just folded his arms.

"I would enjoy that, but why grant you such a mercy?"

With that, the girl made a petulant noise. She was only a child still. She flung her pencil away and plonked her head onto the open book.

When she spoke, it was muffled by the book pages. "This is barbarous."

"Did you just learn that word?" Arthas asked with a throaty chuckle. He glanced at Sapphire's teacher. Lethumo was sprawled awkwardly across the sofa. Droll started to drip from his open, slack mouth.

Sapphire puffed out her chest defiantly. "Yes I did!"

Then she sighed. She wished she could just run out and play with Scarecrow again. Instead she was stuck inside, staring at a smelly book that wasn't even a good book. It was a stupid dictionary. Sapphire looked at Lethumo, then at Arthas. At first she wondered if Lethumo would be mad if she just left without her work being finished. But she really did not want to do it.

Arthas seemed to know what she was thinking. "It's not like he is going to hit you. Run off and do whatever you want."

Sapphire tossed her pencil onto the table without hesitation. Charcoal coated her hands, but she could wash it off at the pond. Rot slept peacefully. He yipped in alarm when Sapphire snatched him up. Stopping at the door, she looked back briefly at Arthas.

"I'll be back at the five clock dings. Bye!"

She casually made her way to the pond. Rot squirmed in her grasp, but Sapphire kept him in her grip. Presenting him to her new friend was going be so much fun. Scarecrow would love him. Everyone loved Rot. Who couldn't?

As she passed by an old decrepit looking house, she noticed an old man struggling to carry a few bags up the stairs. His back was bent terribly. His arms trembled from the strain. No one else was around to help. Rot growled at the man, but the girl ignored the insolent puppy.

She dropped Rot to the ground to free her own arms and approached the man. "Excuse me, would you like some help?"

The elderly man stopped his efforts and turned to her. He smiled, showing off yellowing teeth and dark gums. Most people might be scared of this gaunt, creepy man but Sapphire was used to such people. He looked like all the old necromancers that Sapphire grew up with. Most of them were nice to her so naturally she figured this man would be as well.

"Oh, would you? That would be so kind of you, young miss." His voice was very raspy, as if dust coated his throat. Not surprising, given his age.

Sapphire picked up the bags and took them up the creaky stairs to the door. The man, equally creaky, ascended the stairs and took out a chain of keys. He picked out one and slowly struggled to unlock the door. As eager as Sapphire was to see Scarecrow again, she did not mind him being slow.

Eventually he unlocked the door and led the way into the house. She carried the bags in, Rot trotting after her. He gestured to the small table in front of a rather dusty couch.

"Would you mind placing those over there?"

Sapphire happily obliged. The man clasped his hands and made a pleased noise.

"Thank you dear. I must give you something for your generosity. Do you like candy?"

The word candy was enough for Sapphire's eyes to light up. She nodded enthusiastically. The man shuffled off into another room. After a few sounds of rustling, the man came back with a bowl. Inside were little multicolored jewels of sugary goodness. He gestured with the bowl.

"Take one or two. Not too many! Wouldn't want to spoil your young appetite would we?"

Sapphire grabbed only two blue ones, not wanting to seem greedy. She popped them into her mouth. They tasted delicious. Fruity, but with a weird but not unpleasant aftertaste.

"You are such a kind little thing. Most people would have ignored me. What a well raised child. Where are you from?"

Sapphire smiled at the compliments and was happy to talk to the man.

"I'm from Lordaeron!"

"Lordaeron? Ah, you must have been a baby when it fell then?"

The girl nodded absentmindedly. She really did not know, but she assumed she had been a baby. All her memories were from Icecrown, so she must have been too young to remember being anywhere else.

The man smiled and thanked the girl profusely for her aid, then offered her some more candy.

"You're welcome! I..."

She started to feel weird. The room started to spin. Sapphire turned, which worsened it. Having trouble standing, Sapphire immediately grabbed onto the wall to steady herself.

"Interesting. It is acting quicker than I thought. You must have a high metabolism." His voice was no longer raspy. It was darker and deeper.

A chill ran down Sapphire's spine. Alarms rang throughout her head and she immediately tried to get to the front door. Sapphire grabbed the door knob and twisted it but her legs were too wobbly for her to continue standing.

She collapsed against the floor. The man approached, but Rot got between the two of them and snarled angrily. Sapphire opened the door and grabbed Rot.

"Rot, go!" She practically threw the dog out the door. Rot yelped in alarm and tried to get back inside but the old man slammed the door shut.

Nausea swept over Sapphire. Whatever the man had given her, it was not pleasant. The elderly man straightened his back and proceeded to lift the girl up with ease. He moved her over to the sofa. She attempted to get up, but couldn't. Her body refused to respond properly.

"Don't bother, princess. I'm glad I only let you take two. More and the paralytic might have killed you. Can't let that happen, can we?"


	27. Chapter 27

The old man carried Sapphire down into the basement. It was larger than the building led her to believe. It looked like the inside of a crypt as far as Sapphire could tell. Thick cut stone walls seemed to maze around endlessly. Water dripped overhead, which made Sapphire suspect they were under the canals.

He took her to a dank room with nothing but alcoves filled with coffins. Sapphire wanted to scream when he opened one and dumped her into it, but she couldn't make a sound or move anything, not even a finger. He slammed the coffin lid shut. Darkness greeted her.

Sapphire was not afraid of the dark. She was not afraid of confined spaces either. But this inability to even move scared her. She couldn't do anything to defend herself. There was some hope. By the time the man came back, it might have worn off and she would go for his throat.

Time passed. Sapphire seemed to fall asleep at one point, because she was woken up abruptly by voices.

At first the voices were in the distance, though they slowly grew in volume. At first she could not understand what they were saying, but eventually they came close enough for her to hear.

"-Menethil. I know its her. I saw her a few times in Icecrown Citadel." This voice was of the old man. Now Sapphire knew what this was about. He was a cultist, who had seen her before.

The other voice, smoothly replied. "I have no interest in some guttersnipe with bleached hair who doesn't get enough sun. Even if it were the princess, she's no use to us. The Master is dead."

"She is the princess. I am positive. While the Master is gone, she is not. She is his heir!"

The other man laughed darkly.

"Don't be ridiculous. The Scourge is taken over by a usurper and a spoiled brat could never retake a simple necropolis, let alone the Citadel. The Scourge is ruined."

Sapphire could not argue with that assessment. The Scourge had been ruined, but the usurper was news to her. Someone else ruled Icecrown now? Her father had made no mentions of that.

At this new information, Sapphire grew distracted and she missed a large chunk of the cultists' conversation. When it turned back to her however, she gave it all of her horrified attention.

"-some useless princess. Scrawny muscles and small organs are better than nothing."

The old man sputtered. "I...I can't harvest her! That wouldn't be right!"

There was the sound of a hand hitting something soft. There was a cry of pain, then whimpering.

"She is nothing but meat. I am your new Master. There is no king or princess down here!" The other darker man snarled.

There was silence, then the older man mumbled something. Angry footsteps thundered away.

Sapphire felt her body starting to respond to her. Her fingers twitched. She desperately tried to move more, but the poison was not wearing off fast. The coffin she lay in started to move. She was jostled around before whoever was moving the coffin found a place to put it.

Light blinded her when the lid opened.

The old necromancer reached in and started to pull her limp body out.

"I'm sorry. Ritualist Kiefer has ordered me to kill you. I will make it as painless as possible," He said apologetically.

Sapphire desperately tried to move, but all she could was weakly reach out toward the man. He easily carried her out of the holding room. Sapphire quickly grew frustrated and enraged at her own feebleness and immobility.

The necromancer took her to another room. Everything looked familiar to Sapphire. Meat hooks hung from the ceilings with chains. Bloodied metal tables lined the wall. Various kinds of knives and other sharp implements were neatly lined along a velvet line box. Other cultists worked at tables. One of them proceeded to hang up a bloodied, stump of a leg.

A human woman, clad in traditional cultist robes, turned around and scowled.

"Seriously, that is what you lured in? What, you couldn't manage catching anything useful?"

As soon as the man put Sapphire on the table, she tried to escape but he easily strapped her down. Panic started to set into Sapphire. Not only was she about to be killed and carved up, but it was by a traitor. If he knew Arthas was still alive, he would not dare harm her. None of them would. She tried to speak, but her voice cracked.

Her body responded more to her but it was too late. She thrashed about in her straps while the old man got a syringe and filled it with something in a bottle.

She was going to die.

"No, don't!" She forced out. The necromancer looked at her, dismayed.

"Struggling is of no use. Apologies for what I have to do but-"

"My father isn't dead!" She interrupted.

The necromancer hesitated, then looked at the others. They had turned at that statement, but the woman who had spoken previously quickly scoffed.

"She clearly has mental illness of some variety."

The old man started to sweat. "She's princess Sapphire Menethil. What...what if the Master survived?"

"Oh please! Fuck the Lich King. He's dead and gone."

Now Sapphire grew even angrier. It was one thing to not believe her. It was another to be blasphemous. No real cultist would dare, but one consumed by hunger for power might.

It seemed that the more loyal elderly man was faltering so this woman decided she would do the deed instead. She knocked the syringe out of the necromancers hand and pulled out her own blades.

"It's more fun when they scream."

The woman sliced part of Sapphire's arm. Darkness seemed to edge the corners of Sapphire's vision. Her entire body started to feel a kind of deep pressure exploding inside of her. Bones started to snap loudly. Her teeth started to feel as if someone was pulling them out. It felt like her ribs were breaking like when Gorak Tul had thrown her, only it was every single rib this time. Sapphire screamed in agony. She strained against the leather restraints...and proceeded to tear them.

The two cultists immediately backed away.

"What is that?" The old man said, terrified. Sapphire saw horror in their eyes but she barely noticed. Pain exploded along her back as she sat up. Her vision grew darker and started to blur. The woman raised up a knife toward her.

Metal flashed. No thoughts entered Sapphire's mind. She did not wonder why her body felt so different or why there were suddenly blackened claws at the ends of her furred paws. She opened her mouth and roared. There were screams and soon Sapphire's mouth filled with blood. The old man stumbled away. Sapphire snarled and tore her claws out of the woman. She lunged after the old man and grabbed his arm, digging her teeth into his flesh.

He screamed. Sapphire lifted her head, pulling his arm with her. She tugged it as hard as she could and felt flesh tearing. The entire arm started to rip off. Blood spurted in great quantities.

Sapphire continued to rip the the arm completely off. The man shrieked, flailing about and missing one arm. He started sobbing as he crawled out of the room. Sapphire repositioned the now severed arm in her mouth and proceeded to swallow it whole.

__________  
That evening Arthas stared up toward the clock tower from the doorstep of Lethumo's apartment. Only minutes before, it had rang six times. One more than what Sapphire had promised she would be home by. He did not admit to himself that he was concerned. Something at the back of his mind told him that she would not just forget about the time.

All that had happened in the last few months changed their relationship. Perfect, it was not. But Arthas never expected or wanted perfect. Functional would suffice. So long as he kept his temper in check, he could keep her anxiety and fear to a minimum. At the current point in time, Sapphire had no reason for running away. At least, not without some kind of inciting incident. He had kept his distance for that very reason. Everything seemed...fine.

Before, Lethumo mentioned her finding a new friend, some elf girl. Perhaps the two were busy having fun, whatever that entailed. Sapphire's only other close interaction with a child of her age had been the wolf boy, a brief and abnormal encounter. Normal children played together. She and the other girl were just holed up in some hideout, in the other girl's attic or up a tree.

With a frustrated growl, Arthas turned and went inside. Lethumo was inside his room, talking to himself. Arthas did not pay much attention to what the elf was doing.

A small scratching sound caught his attention. Arthas looked back at the front door. The scratching stopped briefly, but then became more urgent. A bark followed. One that Arthas recognized. He lunged toward the door and practically ripped it off its hinges.

Rot stood there, paw raised to scratch the door more. He immediately dropped the paw, barking frantically. He sprinted into the apartment and hysterically ran circles. Arthas grabbed him with both hands and brought him to his face.

"Calm down, mutt. Where's Sapphire?"

The dog started yipping. Once Arthas got the picture, he dropped the dog. He stomped over to Lethumo's room and swung the door open.

"Lethumo!"

The night elf, who had been writing at his desk, jumped up in alarm. He tripped over some clothes that he had left on the floor. Lethumo fell over.

"What, what!" He exclaimed, face turning dark purple in embarrassment.

"Rot says Sapphire was kidnapped. Come on."

Lethumo gasped. "Kidnapped? Wait, you want me to go?"

Arthas hissed. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

He let go of the night elf, annoyed. He should not have even mentioned it to Lethumo. The elf was useless. Arthas could not afford to waste any more time. He turned on his heel and left the room. A cacophony of struggling noises followed as Lethumo attempted to get to his feet and follow Arthas.

Rot sprinted to the doorway.

"Wait, I'm coming!" Lethumo cried out.

Arthas did not pay him any attention. He grabbed his sword and left the apartment. Rot galloped down the street, not even waiting on Arthas. The man quickly caught up to the dog. If only Rot were just a little older, with longer legs.

Surprisingly, Rot led Arthas to the Cathedral District along the canals. Arthas kept his sword hidden under his cloak, lest any guard see it and become concerned. Rot eventually stopped at a rather weather worn but inhabitable house. Arthas did not hesitate going up the stairs.

A loud crack reverberated along the canals when Arthas kicked down the door. It split in two. Rot immediately jumped over the splinters and barked furiously. The entry room was simple, with nothing but a sofa and a table with papers strewn along it. What was not present was Sapphire nor the one who had taken her.

Rot lifted his nose into the air, sniffing. Arthas stalked along the other rooms, checking each one for any sign of life. Nothing. By the time Arthas cleared the house, Lethumo was gingerly stepping over the wooden remains of the door.

Arthas kicked the sofa in frustration. Most of the house was smothered in dust, except for the main floor. It was spotless. The papers on the table provided nothing. Sapphire was not in the house. He had taken her elsewhere without a trace.

Rot scratched at a bookshelf, whining. Arthas wanted to ignore him. He went off to leave the house but Rot barked, clearly irritated. He dug his little claws into the stone face. Arthas turned to look at the dog, concerned. Something about the bookshelf was off.

He didn't hesitate to look for any switches or hidden buttons. Arthas took hold of the bookshelf and tore it from the wall, revealing a staircase descending below.

Lethumo peered in. "How ominous. I'll just wait up here and-"

Arthas started to descend but at the elf's comment, turned to glare at him. The night elf sighed. Despite his clear discomfort, Lethumo followed. Almost as soon as they started going down, the screaming started. Arthas unsheathed his sword and quickened his pace. They went down a corridor of aged stone. Water dripped from the ceiling, but Arthas ignored it.

An old man came stumbling out of a room, crying and screaming in horror. The most noticeable thing about him was that his arm was freshly missing. Blood poured out of him, staining his robes and the stone walls as he brushed up against them. His widened eyes focused on Arthas and Lethumo.

"Run!" He sobbed, seconds before a growl echoed behind him.

From the darkness, a creature emerged. A creature Arthas had never encountered or seen before. The only remote comparison he could draw was it looked similar to the wolves of Greenstalker's pack, but even that comparison was a stretch. It looked more human than them. Its back was too curved and its legs too long. Everything about it seemed wrong. No flesh covered its canine like skull. Blood dripped from its fanged mouth. Small velveted antlers protruded from the back of the skull. In the empty eye sockets of the skull glowed two dark blue pinpricks of light.

Even from a distance, it was not that large. Bigger than Arthas perhaps, but much skinnier. Its ribs seemed to bulge out of its own skin, giving the creature a starved look about it. White fur covered its neck, shoulders, back and front legs. The stomach and hind quarters had nothing but bare flesh. The flesh looked like it belonged to that of a very old corpse, dark and mottled. Spiky protrusions extended along its spine. The creature had been focused on the old man, but now it saw Arthas and Lethumo. It stood up on its hind legs and roared.

Lethumo screamed and ran into the opposite direction. Arthas did not back down. He summoned up dark unholy magic and condensed it into a bolt which he shot at the creature. Shadowy magic whizzed through the air and hit the creature straight into its chest...and dissipated like mist. The creature looked down briefly at its chest, then back at Arthas. It hissed.

Necromantic magic had zero affects on the creature. Arthas was impressed. The animal roared again and sprinted full speed at him. He immediately blocked off the hallway between the two of them with sheets of diamond hard ice. The creature crashed headfirst into the ice and slumped to the ground. At first Arthas expected its skull to be shattered open, but the animal's skull did not even show a crack. It shook its head and snarled.

"You're a tough bastard," Arthas commented. The creature tried clawing at the ice to no avail.

Then, it looked up at the dripping stone ceiling. It reached up with its long clawed paw and tried to pry a stone loose. Not only strong, but intelligent. It was going to either dig around the ice or use the rock to crack the ice. Unfortunately for Arthas, because he did not know how to kill it. He tried to use other magics through the ice wall. None even seemed to faze the creature, not even when he tried to coagulate its blood in its veins. If he were to kill it, it would have to be the old fashioned way.

Arthas felt it was better to retreat at this time while it was still trying to loosen the rocks. He retreated down back where Lethumo had gone.

"Sweet Elune please protect me-" Lethumo sobbed out.

He was hiding in a room full of coffins. Rot stood guard over the night elf. He barked at Arthas's entrance. The elf sighed in relief.

"Please tell me you killed it!" He cried out. Arthas shook his head and the night elf immediately started praying, this time in Darnassian. In the distance, there were deep thuds. It was trying to get through the ice.


	28. Chapter 28

Arthas blocked up part of the door with more ice. The creature would try to get through and Arthas might slice off its head. He hoped despite its other peculiarities that it couldn't survive without a head.

Cracking continued. Rot peeked his head out into the hallway and sniffed. He looked confused and sniffed some more. A much larger cracking sound persisted, then nothing. Either it had given up or it had broken through. Suddenly there was a growl. Arthas raised his sword, but neither a head or any other body part entered into the room. Despite it having no flesh, the creature was sniffing around the hallway, near the door.

Silence. Arthas glanced over at Lethumo, who was trying to take deep calming breaths.

The beast burst through the ice Arthas had created. Once again Lethumo screamed in terror, irritating Arthas. The creature roared fiercely. Arthas was about to slice off its head, but it snapped its head backwards and grabbed the sword in its mouth. But he did not need a sword to kill it. Arthas let go of the sword, and proceeded to grab its skull. It snarled angrily and of course violently tried to throw off the man, shaking its entire body. The creature roared and attempted to slam him against wall.

Arthas grunted as he hit the rough stone wall but managed to hang onto it. The creature writhed around, enraged at the audacity of Arthas holding onto it. Every clump of its white fur stood on end. As it snarled in anger, bloody spittle flew in the air.

He grabbed the thing by its antlers, about to snap its neck when he realized something. The antlers were small, only nubs really, covered in soft, fleshy velvet. White fur. Blue eyes. Just like-

The thing finally dislodged his grip on it, and flung Arthas off. It then slashed at his chest. Arthas's armor, paltry though it might be, protected him from being eviscerated. It lunged at him, mouth wide. Arthas raised his forearm, which the monster quickly clamped down on. The force of the creature forced Arthas to fall backwards onto the floor.

"It's Sapphire!" Arthas managed to choke out.

"Are you fucking serious?" Lethumo squeaked from the corner of the room.

Arthas growled and tried to pry his daughter's jaws off of his arm. Her jaws must be very strong, for it was actually hurting Arthas. He managed to get her upper jaw out of his flesh but she lashed angrily.

While Lethumo just cowered in the corner. Arthas snapped at him. "Do something, you moron! She likes you!"

The elf was clearly panicking. If he didn't do anything, Sapphire could very well rip off Arthas's arm. Which would be very inconvenient for him. At first that seemed it would be the case, but the elf suddenly got an idea. He grabbed a rock and tossed it at Sapphire. The rock wasn't large enough to cause pain, but it did get her attention. She dropped Arthas's arm and turned to snarl at him.

Lethumo immediately lifted both his hands to show that they were empty. And he started to sing in a low, gentle tone.

And where did you get such

a messy bloody face, little saber cub?

Did you perhaps crawl in the mud?

Or did you splash too much blood?

Come over little saber cub,

lest you get pulled astray.

Your dear Lethumo is here

to take your fear away.

Sapphire stared at him with those dark eye sockets. She lifted herself to walk two legged over to Lethumo. The night elf backed himself up against the wall, trembling with fear. He held up one hand.

"Nice Sapphire...good, Sapphire," He said comfortingly. Sapphire came forward to sniff his hand, then rubbed her snout against it. Suddenly, a deep noise rumbled from deep in her chest and she shoved herself against him. The elf jumped in alarm but Sapphire was only cuddling with him. The elf started stroking her white fur along her neck, causing her to arch her back and continue that deep noise.

"I think she's purring, Arthas," Lethumo said, suddenly laughing at the situation. Arthas got to his feet. He shook his arm, wincing at the pain. Black blood slowly oozed out. Lethumo started to wrap his arms around Sapphire's thick muscular neck and continued to soothe her by running her fingers through her fur. Her dog like tail started to wag.

From bloodthirsty monster to affectionate dog with only a simple rhyme sung by a mediocre bard, Arthas thought sardonically.

Sapphire looked at her current state with curiosity, seemingly unaware of anything that she had done previously. She then looked over at Arthas. Her tail started to wag faster, until she saw his arm.

She growled in alarm and rushed over to him. She made a cacophony of worried noises. Arthas tried to reassure her.

"I'm fine. You didn't do much damage."

Sapphire whined and looked at her paws. She then backed away from both men. Lethumo immediately went to comfort her.

"No no! It's okay, kid! It's not your fault," He consoled.

She whined some more. As the elf tried to keep her calm, Arthas's thoughts went wild. He was right. It could not be Sapphire's fault, but there was more. Someone had to have done this. Arthas left the room and looked down the hallway at the old man on the floor. He approached and saw that the blood pooled around him.

Sapphire had ripped off the man's arm, which had caused him to bleed out. Arthas looked into the other room, which was full of dissection apparatus. A woman with a torn up face and slashed chest lay dead on the floor. From what he could determine, they planned to kill her and cut her up. Instead, for some reason she had changed into some kind of creature and turned against them.

Arthas noticed there was no torn off arm. He looked back at the man, thinking he'd missed it. Still no arm.

He heard footsteps from the opposite end of the hallway, away from Sapphire and Lethumo. Arthas turned and saw a pathetic example of humanity. A greasy, black haired man stormed down the hall. He looked like one of his ancestors had dallied with a kobold or two. The ratty man saw Arthas standing over his dead colleague.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, raising his arms to defend himself but Arthas merely raised his own and closed his fist. Dark energy lashed out and wrapped around the cultist's neck. The man immediately clutched at his throat and gurgled in horror.

At first, Arthas intended to suffocate the man but a thought occurred to him. Maybe it was this man who had cursed Sapphire.

"What did you do to Sapphire, my daughter?" Arthas demanded, letting go of his spell. The magic dissipated and the man fell onto all fours, gasping.

"I...I did not do anything to-"

With a single move, Arthas stepped on the man's hand. The necromancer screamed in pain.

Arthas bent down and smiled. "Lie again and I crush all of those fragile little bones."

The cultist sobbed, "I swear! I...I just told the others to kill her? I did not touch her! Please, spare me!"

He sounded sincere, so Arthas took his foot off the man's hand. Most cultists had higher tolerances for pain. This one was no masochist it seemed. Arthas was disappointed. Lethumo and Sapphire left the room, with Rot trailing behind them. Sapphire snarled at the sight of the man. The cultist shrieked at the sight of her.

"What the fuck is that thing?" He cried out. Arthas whipped around toward him.

"You sniveling sack of flesh. I'm Arthas Menethil and I suggest you not call my daughter a thing again!" He hissed.

The realization of who stood before caused the already pale man to turn almost a green color.

"Master! I didn't know!"

Arthas ignored the boring groveling of the cultist and turned to Lethumo. Lethumo himself was pale after viewing the carnage that Sapphire had done, but he was stronger than his dashing, shallow demeanor led on.

"Take Sapphire home. Clean her up and perhaps feed her..." Arthas started to say, then looked at the armless man. That's where the arm went. Sapphire would not need dinner. She had eaten plenty enough.

Lethumo nodded at the pathetic toady. "What about him?"

"Take him with you. At least now I have a single, if wretched cultist to worship me." An undead dog, his daughter, and now one cultist. That was the sum total of his followers.

The man cleared his throat and came forward. He smiled weakly. "My name is-"

"Your name is whatever I feel like calling you," Arthas sneered, causing the man to cower before him.

Sapphire whimpered questioningly at Arthas. He reached over and pet her head. He was staying behind to see if he could uncover the reasoning behind her transformation. Two corpses lay on the ground, their secrets about to be his.

Lethumo wrapped his arm around Sapphire and gently pulled her forward. "Come on Sapphire. You are in need of a bath."

That was the wrong thing to say. Sapphire growled at him, not at all desiring to bathe. But the night elf planted both hands on his hips.

"Don't talk back to me, little...Well, you aren't really little physically but you are still a saber cub!" He commanded sternly. Sapphire stamped one paw down and reluctantly followed. As the cultist came with them, it seemed Sapphire still harbored resentment toward him. She snapped her jaws near him, causing him to shriek in terror. But Sapphire wagged her tail and continued on.

Arthas focused his attention away from them and at the bloodied scene. He felt no residual magic, so nothing had been cast on Sapphire. At least, not in the immediate area. The woman had died first, that was clear so most likely she had been closest to Sapphire at the time of the attack.

Without any fanfare, Arthas resurrected the woman. He did not spare any kind of extra magic to empower her. He only needed answers, not a follower. Her body stirred and slowly she sat up and looked at Arthas with blank dead eyes.

"Did you preform any magic on my daughter?" He demanded, exerting his will on her to force out a truthful answer.

She slowly shook her head. "No. I did not."

Arthas pointed at the old man and asked if he had done anything to her. Again, she said no. A few more perfunctory questions and Arthas was left with nothing useful out of the woman, so he released her and turned to the old man. But before he could start any spell, there was a cold, high pitched laugh from behind him. He looked back to see the woman had not gone limp, despite his own spell releasing her spirit.

"I command you to rest, woman," He ordered, but she did not.

"I am no woman," The body now said. It was now obvious to him that this was not the same spirit that he'd questioned previously. Somehow, another one had possessed the body without urging. Something he had never seen before.

Instinctively, Arthas placed his hand on his sword hilt casually. "Who are you?"

"No one," It said. Arthas heard shuffling behind him and saw the one armed man start to rise. He had not even started to resurrect the body, but yet it was getting to its feet. The old man stared at Arthas blankly.

To keep them both in his line of sight, Arthas sidestepped. He gripped his sword. Whatever this was, he wanted answers.

"Do you have the answer to what I want to know?" He asked blankly, hiding his emotions.

The old man's mouth gaped open but did not move when the voice answered.

"You wish to know the being who created the Outcast?"

Arthas narrowed his eyes. "I want to know what caused my daughter to turn into some kind of cannibalistic animal."

The woman learned forward, head turning to the side limply.

"You did, Arthas Menethil."

Deceptive tricksters it seemed. Arthas did not believe them. He would have clearly remembered doing that. Arthas proceeded to whisk out his sword and simply decapitated the woman. The head came off and flopped to the floor. But that did not stop the thing from speaking.

"As a consequence of your actions, you cursed the Outcast. Destined to never belong here-"

"-or there," The old man continued. "She's doomed to be a vessel of ruination and shadow."

Despite his desire to not be affected by the unholy liars, Arthas grew angry. He grabbed the old man by his neck.

"How do I undo this curse?" He roared.

His attempt at intimidation did nothing to sway it.

"You cannot. Death follows her wherever she goes and will continue to do so-"

"-till the stars expire," continued the head on the floor.

With that final declaration, both bodies went limp and hit the floor with wet thumps.

After hours of his head clouded by anger and confusion, Arthas eventually trudged his way back home. He slowly opened the door to the dim apartment. The cultist had already found a place for him to sleep, curled up on the sofa. As gently as he could, Arthas walked to his and Sapphire's room. He pushed the door open quietly. The bed room was empty. Concern did not occur to him. He knew where to look.

Arthas expected Sapphire to have eaten Lethumo and decided to nap in his bed. That would have been amusing. But instead he got another suprise. Lethumo lay in his own bed, snoring loudly. Flung horizontally across the bed with her head on Lethumo's chest was the fully human and small Sapphire. She nuzzled the elf in her sleep and mumbled something. A little ball rising under the covers in one corner of the bed told him that Rot was perfectly asleep as well.

Still disturbed by recent events, Arthas returned to his room. Rather than sleep on the floor like usual, he flung himself onto Sapphire's bed and passed out.


	29. Chapter 29

The night before had probably been Sapphire's worse experience in her short life. She had no clue how it happened, but somehow she had been turned into some kind of monster. Not only that, but a horribly violent one. Completely tearing off a man's arm was not something Sapphire would ever do of her own volition. She definitely would not proceed to consume it. Even now the taste, which reminded her of the salt pork that Volugg had fed her most days, lingered in the back of her mouth.

Somehow she had even injured her own father. It seemed implausible, but that morning as she went to wake him, the evidence spoke for itself. The fresh jagged marks along his forearm told her she had really tried to kill him. Or atleast eat his arm as well.

Next time, she might succeed. But it might end up the same way. It might be Lethumo whom she harms. Or even Rot. She can see herself rampaging through the streets of Stormwind. Blood would flow through the gaps between the cobblestoned roads. Guards would pile up with armor and flesh alike shredded apart. She could even imagine her newest friend Scarecrow's body laying on the ground.

Her chest ached. It had been aching all night. She briefly rubbed at the pain, which radiated around her own heart. Sapphire reached out and shook her father's uninjured arm.

"I'm awake," He said, not even opening his eyes.

The girl bit her lip, hesitating on what she was planning to say. He might get angry at it. But she did not know what else to do.

She whispered. "I...I think I need to run away again."

At this, Arthas did open his eyes. He slowly moved to his head to face her. A few agonizing seconds seemed to last hours.

"Yet you are telling me about it. Does not seem like a very good plan if you intend to run away. Now I know."

Sapphire nodded. He was seeming to take it well, so she continued to explain herself. Tears started to build up in her eyes.

"I do not want to hurt you again."

Arthas slowly rose to a sitting position. He smirked. "Concern for me? That's not how a parent child relationship works."

Sapphire started to sniffle. The dam broke and tears started to run down her face. Arthas reached out with one hand, but Sapphire recoiled. He stopped briefly. Then he continued and started to wipe away her teas with both of his heads.

"You mildly inconvenienced me. Look at the wound. It's practically gone." With that he showed off the wound fully. It looked bad still, but like he mentioned it was healing fast. A plus side for being undead. Sapphire tried to wrap her hand around his forearm, but her hands were too small.

He pulled her into his arms. Sapphire pushed herself up against him. He had not bathed the night before. Did not even remove his own armor. The smell of blood clung to his body.

Again, her chest thobbed with pain. She absentmindedly rubbed it again, wincing. Arthas saw the motion.

"What's wrong?"

Sapphire just shrugged. "My chest has been hurting for hours. It's ok."

Arthas scowled and proceeded to examine her chest. He pulled her shirt down. Sapphire looked down herself and saw a blackened bruise just near the center of her chest. Underneath, one of many scars marred her skin.

"Where did that come from?" Arthas demanded, not harshly.

Sapphire shook her head, confused. She did not remember hitting herself there hard enough to bruise. In fact, she could not even remember when she had received the scar. Most scars she had came from Arthas and those were chiefly located around her chest.

There was a soft knock on the door and Kiefer peeked in.

"Master, you summoned me?" He asked.

Arthas nodded toward Sapphire. Kiefer looked at the girl, then at the bruising. The two seemed to exchange a kind of silent conversation. Sapphire immediately scowled at being left out, but she quickly got her attention from them snatched. Lethumo came in, all decked out in his finest.

"Ah. There's Sapphire! I was wondering where you went. I'm starving. Want to come with me?"

The sound of food immediately caught her attention. All dark thoughts seemed to fade. She got to her feet.

"Yes please!"

She briefly looked back at Arthas. He nodded, allowing her to go free. Sapphire sprinted over to Lethumo and grabbed his hand.

"I want orange juice."

The night elf smiled. "Oh, I'll get you a whole barrel of it if you want."

____________  
After a day of formulating the spell required, Arthas and Kiefer got to work on it. Kiefer made a sleeping draught to mix into some hot tea. Sapphire drank it without suspicion. They might have been able to do it with her being conscious, but Arthas preferred her to not know. She did not need to know what they were doing.

Lethumo too got a heavy dose of the draught. He might cause some objections if he remained conscious.

Soon both were deeply asleep. Kiefer carried Lethumo to his room while Arthas make a circle of magic around Sapphire's prone form. Kiefer returned, looking only mildly annoyed.

"Master, I would never want to question your-"

"Say whatever you are thinking," Arthas commanded, annoyed at the distraction.

The cultist nodded toward the elf's room. "Why keep the mortal bard alive? He seems useless."

Arthas shrugged. "He did prove himself useful last night. Kept Sapphire from consuming my arm."

With that, any objections from the cultist ceased. The two quickly turned to the task at hand and raised both their arms for the spell casting. They were attempting to find whatever spell or curse that caused Sapphire's transformation. And Arthas considered the bruising on her chest was a tell tale sign of where to look for.

Kiefer was a mediocre spellcaster, so Arthas had to be the hard working one. The spell seemed to not work as intended.

There, above Sapphire, a dark object started to materialize. Arthas scowled, confused at first at the image. Like the center of a raging storm, the image was nothing but a swirling mass of black, purple, and blue. Arthas had expected to see her heart, or some part of her chest cavity. This was not it. It was Kiefer who finally spoke his thoughts.

"What if...what if that is her heart?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably in his own stance.

Arthas attempted to pierce the veil. Suddenly he heard her heart beating faster. He looked down at her physical body. It was powerful, whatever it was. Rather than try and pry it open, he instead attempted to at least peer inside. Suddenly the mists of darkness dissipated. And there her heart lay.

Around every heart was a thin layer of fluid. It reduced the friction between the muscles of the heart and kept it healthy. But usually the fluid was clear, white, or even yellow. For Sapphire's heart, the fluid was like the dark cloud. Veins of purple and dark cobalt swirled around the heart, pulsing with each heartbeat.

"By all that is unholy..." Kiefer whispered, clearly not expecting that.

Arthas looked at the image without showing his true emotions. He too was taken off guard by the appearance, but it did not shock him as much. Still, it disturbed him that such dark energy could surround Sapphire like that without his knowledge. The only time she had been without him had been before he found her with the orc shaman, and the brief time with Gorak Tul. The scar tissue around her chest looked too old to be from the time in Thros. And she would no doubt remember it. However, the time from Arthas's fall to when he found her with Volugg would be within the time frame.

Then, Arthas remembered the devious spirits from the night before. They said he was the cause. Or at least, his own actions led to the cause. The scar was not large. It looked as if something...had been inserted into her body. Something sharp. Broken.

Arthas suspected the cause now, but he definitely needed to confirm his suspicions.

"Kiefer, do you think we could glance inside the heart?" He said, still maintaining the spell. The cultist was obviously starting to struggle, but he nodded.

They tried their best, but it was difficult. The darkness around her heart seemed to be resisting attempts to look inside. But just as it seemed that Kiefer might collapse from the effort, they slowly got past the resistance and then Arthas could see for himself.

There, imbedded within the thick muscles of the septum, where the two halves of the heart were connected, was a dark chunk of metal. Rather than continue looking at the heart, Arthas focused on the shard. It was rough and jagged. It almost looked completely unremarkable except for the obvious rune etched and glowing brightly in the metal. It was unmistakable. Arthas looked upon that rune and others for years. Even blind Arthas would have recognized the feel of the rune and the coolness of the metal.

Somehow, a shard of Frostmourne had been shoved into Sapphire's heart. Slight anger came to him. Why would she not tell him of this? It seemed like pertinent information. Unless she did not know herself. She did not remember the wound. The anger did not go away, but merely directed itself toward himself. The specters did not lie. He was at fault, even if indirectly.

He ended the spell. Kiefer finally collapsed. Sweat pored down his ratlike countenance.

"What was that?" The cultist sputtered.

Arthas bent down and scooped Sapphire into his arms. He took her to her bed and laid her down. Strands of white hair fell down into her face. Arthas brushed them back before sitting down next to her.

All night he sat like that, deep in his own thoughts. He refused to go to sleep. When morning came, Arthas left Sapphire. He went off to the kitchen. Despite being a prince and then king, Arthas knew some things about cooking. He lit a fire and took out some pans. Lethumo himself did not know how to cook, but there was some supplies. Arthas took out flour, butter, and eggs.

Lethumo woke and left the apartment before even noticing him. Kiefer lay passed out on the sofa. By the time Sapphire roused, Arthas had managed to create some passable pancakes. He set the plate out on the small table just as Sapphire entered. She saw the pancakes.

"What're those?" She asked, curiously.

"Pancakes," He said simply. That was all she needed to know. Sapphire dug into them like she had not eaten for weeks. She ate so much that Arthas needed to make more. He could not feel very flattered at the thought. She would wolf down anything.

Her assumption that she should run off was not unfounded, and Arthas agreed with it partly. If not for others' safety, then her own sanity. But she could not just go off alone. Whether she liked it or not, she needed Arthas.

"Still thinking of running away?" Arthas asked casually. Sapphire slowed down her eating. She then nodded, rather subdued.

Arthas handed her another stack of pancakes. "A good plan, but rather impractical. I think my plan is better."

The girl frowned, confused. Arthas sat across from her and folded his arms.

"I thought you wished to be a druid. You can't become one without being taught. And most druids live in very isolated, light populations. So, even if you were to give into your inner monster, there wouldn't be as much harm. And I could keep an eye on you as well."

She wanted to leave but Arthas would not let her go so easily. He shrugged and turned away, continuing the spiel. "But what do I know after all? You would make an awful druid."

Manipulating her in such a playful manner seemed so easy, Arthas wondered why he never thought to do this before. Sapphire immediately started to confront him.

"No I wouldn't! I would be the best druid ever, even better than that one guy. Mulfarian-"

"-Malfurion," Arthas corrected.

Sapphire hissed at him. "Better than him! You will see!"


	30. Chapter 30

Boats surrounded her. Everything smelled of salty water, unwashed sailor bodies, and the overwhelming stench of dead fish. Hundreds of loud, cackling birds swarmed the sky above the docks, stealing what food they could from piles of seafood. Those that did not fly around stood on the many towering masts of the docked ships. Sailors and laborers crowded the docks. And past all of the hectic activity, the vast expanse of ocean loomed ominously. Now Sapphire realized the truth. Becoming a Druid was not worth transversing the giant pond of death and despair.

She wanted to run off back to the safety of Stormwind's white walls but the docks were too busy at the moment. So she ran toward one of the tall dock pilings that stabilized all of the wooden walkways. She wrapped her arms around it tightly.

"I have changed my mind," She exclaimed. Behind her, Kiefer and Lethumo both looked at her.

Arthas shook his head, not even deigning to turn his head in her direction. "Come on, Sapphire. You are making a scene."

Sapphire was resolute. She dug her fingers into the wood. She wore her Kul Tiran long coat once more and Rot poked his head out of one of the many pockets that lined it. He barked in concern.

"I'm not about to board one of those evil things. Doomed to die as water fills my lungs."

Lethumo planted his hands on his hips. "And here I thought I was dramatic."

Arthas dropped the bags he had been carrying, shoving one into Kiefer's arms. He then approached her and attempted to pry her away from the wooden column. Sapphire hissed in response.

"No! Lemme go!" She snapped. Arthas peeled her fingers off the piling and proceeded to fling her over one shoulder. She grunted as her stomach hit his shoulder firmly, knocking the wind out of her briefly. He started carrying her to graceful, Darnassian vessel that was to bear them to Kalimdor.

Lethumo's uncle had finally responded with a letter. Apparently his name was Cerelial Nightwind and he was some kind of powerful druid that rarely traveled from him home in someplace called Feralas, but he was fond of Lethumo. He was willing to take on a student on his nephew's request, but they would have to travel to Moonglade. Cerelial would not leave the continent. It sounded like fun to Sapphire...if only they didn't have to take a boat to get there. Apparently mage portals were too expensive even for Lethumo to consider.

Sapphire tried to escape from her father's grasp but it was no use. Eventually she just relented and fell limp against his shoulder.

"I hate you," She said angrily.

Arthas smirked. "Good."

Once they were on the ship, Arthas dumped Sapphire on top of a barrel. He patted her head before leaving to speak with the captain. Sapphire watched Lethumo and Kiefer board after them, tempted to fling herself back onto the dock. There was a fair distance between the dock and the ship however. Water, murky dark, filled the expanse between them.

"Cheer up Sapphire! You will love Kalimdor, especially my people's lands. Trees that rise up to the sky, thicker and taller than the towers of Stormwind keep. Such vast arrays of colors and smells. In my own view, there is nothing as pleasant and paradisiacal as Ashenvale in the autumn!"

Sapphire was pulled out of her dark mood by Lethumo's descriptions. She turned to face him and smiled. "What about Moonglade? That's where we are going."

Lethumo clapped one hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Moonglade, where the best druids live! A pristine and unearthly place of beauty."

The night elf immediately went into a spiel on what Moonglade was like. Protected by mountains and the magic of druids, Moonglade was practically untouched nature. Trees even bigger than the ones found in Ashenvale had grown in Moonglade for centuries. No tree needed to fear being cut down. Wildlife runs abundant in the glade, both predator and prey. Its isolated location kept Moonglade safe from extreme weather.

Night elves were not even the only people who lived there. Tauren, dryads, keepers of the grove, and even great green dragons lived in the mystical retreat. Sapphire was so excited to see a live dragon up close.

During all of Lethumo's speaking, Kiefer just looked more and more annoyed.

"All of this seems to be intriguing to the princess, but none of this interests me. Nor I'm sure the Master," He uttered snarkily.

Arthas strode over just as the necromancer declared this. He folded his arms.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Felwood will interest you."

Now the necromancer looked interested.

Lethumo sighed. "Of course the two of you would prefer the demon infested woods."

Demons sounded interesting to Sapphire as well and the girl spoke up. "Ooh, can I go to Felwood too?"

Both Lethumo and Arthas turned on her and spoke near simultaneously. "No!"

That caused Sapphire to sulk once more. Rot squirmed his way out of her pocket in order to lick her hand reassuringly.

The ship's captain yelled for the near completely night elf crew to get ready to head out. Since they were all passengers and would only get in the way, Arthas directed Lethumo and Kiefer to head down to their cabin. Sapphire hopped down to go follow but Arthas scooped her up instead.

"No, you are coming with me. We can watch Stormwind slowly disappear over the horizon. Sound fun?"

Sapphire whimpered unhappily. Watching Stormwind disappear meant they would be going farther and farther away from land. The two of them went to the prow of ship. Arthas lifted Sapphire up onto the railing. Sapphire briefly panicked when she saw the water directly below her. One push could sent her straight down. But Arthas kept a firm grasp on her.

"You won't drown," Arthas assured. She did not believe him and he seemed to realize it.

He gestured toward all of the crew members that were scrambling to ready the ship.

"Oh, if the ship sinks, they will drown. Kiefer will drown. Lethumo will drown. But you will not. You cannot drown if you die before the ship sinks fully."

Sapphire looked up at him confused. Was he saying what she thought she was saying?

"A quick thrust to the heart would kill you with little suffering. Far superior to a long drawn out drowning," Arthas commented, as if he were merely discussing the weather.

Sapphire sat there, thinking about what he said.

"You promise?" She demanded harshly.

Arthas smirked. "Yes. I promise I'll kill you."

Then she hugged him. Perhaps to anyone else, they would be alarmed to hear a parent say they would kill their child. But to Sapphire it was a comforting thing to say. She really hated ships, even though she had only been on two. Both times were disastrous and she expected this one to be no different.

As the ship started to leave, Sapphire felt a little better about the venture. They watched as the ship left the docks and the sails were opened fully to take advantage of the wind. A few of the sea birds followed the ship from the land, still crying annoyingly.

When Stormwind had disappeared and the sun began to set, Sapphire felt like she had seen enough of the ocean for now.

"Arthas, I want to go down now...Carry me?" She said, holding her arms up toward him.

He gave her a skeptical look, then picked her up without complaint. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his neck.

Kiefer and Lethumo both had settle into the passenger cabin. It was a rather bare room. The dying light of the day shone through one delicate window. A small table with benches had been bolted down against the wall and only two beds were pushed against the wall. Kiefer would be sleeping on the floor. Sapphire had already demanded she could sleep with Lethumo and the night elf could hardly argue with her.

But as they prepared to sleep, Sapphire had a change of heart. As Arthas reclined on the bed, she came over to his bed. Her doll, teddy bear, and Rot were in her arms.

"Can I sleep with you instead?" She asked.

Arthas shrugged. The girl proceeded to clamber onto the bed and crawled over to him. She planted Rot at her feet and plopped onto her back. Rot immediately flopped onto his side and passed out, laying as if dead. Arthas folded his arms.

"You comfortable?" He asked.

Sapphire nodded sleepily. "Thank you. For letting me sleep here and for being nice to me earlier."

He did not react at first and she thought he was angry with her. But he wrapped one arm around her.

"I suppose that must be why I'm here. To protect you. That is what parents are supposed to do," He said darkly. At first she assumed that he meant why he was there in the ship with her, but he meant in general. Why he was "alive."

"Maybe someone wanted you to change," Sapphire suggested hopefully. Arthas shook his head and merely grunted in response. He did not seem to want to talk about it anymore so Sapphire attempted to get comfortable and go to sleep.

The ship rolled with each wave so it was hard for Sapphire to sleep. So she thought instead. Before now, she had given little thought as to why Arthas had survived his defeat. She briefly thought that Tirion Fordring had spared him, but she did not really like that idea. Sounded stupid. It was all confusing. He was alive and Sapphire not only had grown antlers but had turned into a monster.

Everything was so overwhelming to Sapphire but at least she was not alone now. Arthas. Rot. Lethumo. Even Kiefer, though she really did not like him. She had Volugg and Stub for a brief time. She missed them. In fact, she even missed the wolf boy, Grendel.

Then she thought of Gorak Tul and Adalger. Briefly she panicked, thinking that they could be sailing right to them. Imagined that Gorak Tul was reaching out to her, to eat her whole. But no, they were heading to Kalimdor, not Kul Tiras. Gorak Tul couldn't hurt her, especially with Arthas next to her. She did not need to worry about him or the Hunstman again.


End file.
